Mauricio Pochettino reveals how he almost left Tottenham before Champions League final

Mauricio Pochettino was the manager of Tottenham Hotspur for more than five years, but his time at the club was almost cut short due to a massive opportunity.

Tottenham Hotspur finally won silverware last season and it had been a long time coming. Ange Postecoglou was the manager to finally end the 17-year wait for a trophy, but Mauricio Pochettino came close a number of times.

Pochettino certainly brought change to Spurs as, until he arrived, the North Londoners rarely finished inside the top four. Pochettino led Tottenham to the Carabao Cup final in his first season at the club and his side qualified for the Champions League in the four seasons which followed.

However, even after taking Spurs to the final of the Champions League, Pochettino was sacked as Tottenham plummeted and suffered humiliating results against Bayern Munich and Brighton and Hove Albion.

Mauricio Pochettino came close to leaving Tottenham sooner than first thought

Pochettino was well-loved during his time at Tottenham, but the Argentine boss would have actually left North London sooner if Daniel Levy had given him permission.

Real Madrid offered Pochettino a chance to replace Zinedine Zidane as the club’s manager, but Tottenham had no interest in giving him what he wanted.

Pochettino told El Chiringuito TV: “I don’t know whether to tell the story or not. Zidane is leaving and logically, there’s the possibility of signing for Real Madrid. Surely other coaches too.

“I had given Levy my word that I would stay until Tottenham ‘s new ground was finished. At that moment, I told him that I would go to Madrid if Levy gave the OK. I don’t know what happened afterwards. Surely he didn’t give the OK.    

The football world was taken by surprise on Thursday when Daniel Levy stepped down as executive chairman of Tottenham Hotspur after nearly 25 years in the role.

Pochettino missed out on an opportunity to win the Champions League

Pochettino may have reached the Champions League final a year after he was barred from taking the managerial position at Real Madrid. However, this achievement was quite extraordinary considering what little money had been spent on improving the Tottenham first-team squad.

Had Pochettino been allowed to join Real Madrid, who had just won the Champions League for a third consecutive season, he would have had a better chance of winning the ultimate club trophy.

Pochettino was later able to manage another top European side in PSG, but his time in France did not go according to plan.

READ MORE – What Mauricio Pochettino said about Xavi Simons four years before Tottenham transfer