Pochettino insists Spurs should have been awarded 2016-17 Premier League title after Chelsea rule breaches

Mauricio Pochettino has declared that Tottenham Hotspur should have been awarded the 2016-17 Premier League title following Chelsea’s punishment for financial rule breaches dating back to the Roman Abramovich era, arguing that his side “didn’t compete with the same rules” that season.

Spurs finished second that campaign with a then-club-record 86 points — including an unbeaten home record in the final season at the old White Hart Lane — yet ended up seven points adrift of Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. The Argentine, now head coach of the United States national team, is unequivocal about what he believes the record books should show.

“I’ve said that, that we should win one title, one Premier League,” Pochettino said. “We should have been awarded it. They were punished, they admitted, so that’s it. The title should be for the team that was second… for sure, we deserve to be champions for that year, because we were the second best.”

Chelsea’s punishment stemmed in part from the investigation into Eden Hazard’s 2012 transfer from Lille, which found illegal payments had been made to agents. The club were fined but not stripped of any titles, a outcome largely attributed to the new ownership under Todd Boehly self-reporting the breaches upon buying the club in 2022. Pochettino, while careful to acknowledge Conte’s coaching ability, maintains the competitive imbalance was real.

“It’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card,” he said. “Maybe with the same rules, if we apply the same things, maybe we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals. It’s not me complaining. It’s the truth.”

Asked specifically whether Hazard had been the difference that season, Pochettino did not hesitate. “Maybe yes. Maybe yes. I have no doubt and I’m not scared to say the truth. The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I’m saying this. But if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules I’d admit the same and say ‘look, we don’t deserve the title because we broke the rules’.”

Pochettino also touched on his enduring connection to Spurs, saying the club remains the one he would manage regardless of division, and that he was approached about a return last season but felt the timing was not right. He also revealed he has stayed in contact with former chairman Daniel Levy, who was himself forced out of the club last year. “He now knows the feeling,” Pochettino said of Levy’s own departure, adding that the two have spoken openly about the experience.