Mauricio Pochettino has made a bold claim that Tottenham Hotspur should have been awarded the 2016/17 Premier League title after Chelsea’s financial rule breaches were uncovered.
Pochettino led Spurs to second place that season, finishing seven points behind Chelsea.
However, after Chelsea were punished for breaches linked to the Roman Abramovich era, the former Tottenham manager believes the authorities should have gone further.
The Football Association (FA) fined Chelsea £10 million in July and also gave them a suspended two-window transfer ban. The Premier League had previously fined the club £10.75m in March.
The Blues allegedly used unlicensed agents to sign players between 2009 and 2022 and also attempted to hide the true nature of some transfer dealings.
Some of the biggest names to have played for the club were linked to the investigation, including Eden Hazard, Willian, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic.
Those players were the backbone of Antonio Conte’s title-winning team, with Hazard spearheading the charge with 16 Premier League goals and several dazzling performances.
Chelsea’s current BlueCo ownership reported the issues after taking over the club in 2022, which helped reduce the punishment.
The club avoided a points deduction, but Pochettino believes his former employers should have also been stripped of the title.
“We should win one Premier League, we should have been awarded it,” Pochettino said (via the Guardian).
“If that [Chelsea’s rule-break] was true, then we deserve to be champions that year, for sure. They were punished – they admitted it? So that’s it. The title should be for the team that was second.
“We can say that they scored goals, they won games. Okay. But it’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same cards.
“Maybe with the same rules, we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals.”
Chelsea won three Premier League titles, two Champions League titles, two Europa League titles, four FA Cups and one League Cup in those 13 years.
Recent Posts
- Gary Neville says two Manchester United players should not start together after Tottenham draw
- Carrick walking a tightrope as Man Utd crisis deepens after Spurs draw, he could be sacked before December
- Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr could miss El Clasico clash with Barcelona after a mindless red card for hair-pulling
- Former Liverpool defender says Rio Ferdinand and Piers Morgan are ‘embarrassing themselves’ by defending Cristiano Ronaldo
- Cristiano Ronaldo needs another 20 goals to reach 1,000 in his career
- Chelsea handed major Moises Caicedo injury boost ahead of Bournemouth clash
- Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega declares interest in challenging Infantino for FIFA presidency
- Manchester City chiefs confident of winning appeal, claim ‘sporting justice’ is on their side
- Iraola targets unique milestone as Liverpool host troubled Man City
- Premier League 2026/27 Matchday 6 predictions: Manchester City face tough Liverpool test, Arsenal bid to return to winning ways
