Back in September, one of the biggest Premier League stories of the year broke as Daniel Levy stepped down at Tottenham, and Mauricio Pochettino has given his reaction to the decision.
Last summer, Levy left Tottenham after 25 years as the club’s chairman, with the North London club’s owners opting to restructure the hierarchy.
During the former chairman’s tenure, Mauricio Pochettino’s stint as manager was by far the most successful, as the team were consistently fighting at the top of the Premier League.
But that ended after Levy sacked Pochettino in 2019, and now the Argentine has given his honest take on the 63-year-old and his departure from Spurs.
Mauricio Pochettino was shocked by Daniel Levy’s leaving Tottenham
Pochettino has admitted that he was shocked by Daniel Levy’s departure from Tottenham Hotspur over the summer.
The Argentine claims to have had a strong relationship with the Spurs chairman, even after he was sacked by Levy back in 2019.
Asked whether he was surprised by Levy’s departure, Pochettino told TalkSPORT: “Of course. I think everyone was surprised by that. I keep a very good relationship with him.
“I think we had a very good relationship when I was there in Tottenham. When I left Tottenham, we always kept in touch, and now we are in touch.
“Of course, I think not only me, I think everyone, if you ask the same question to our fans, for the fans of Tottenham and for everyone, they were surprised about the part of the club.”
Pochettino has spoken about returning to Tottenham one day in an attempt to finish what he started at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Under Pochettino, Spurs finished second in the Premier League, runners-up in the Champions League, runners-up in the League Cup and reached two FA Cup semi-finals.
Mauricio Pochettino on returning to the Premier League
Pochettino has also revealed his ambition to return to the Premier League after his time managing the United States national team.
The 53-year-old said he was ‘so close’ to winning the Premier League and the Champions League with Tottenham, and he would like to be competitive at that level again.
When asked whether he would like to return to the Premier League one day, Pochettino added: “We were so close to winning the Premier League and the Champions League with Tottenham.
“I think in that case we wanted to win the Premier League and the Champions League, because Tottenham is a club that deserves this type of titles, you know, this type of trophies.
“Yes, why not one day come back to the Premier League? For me, the Premier League is the best in the world, the most competitive.
“I don’t say that it’s unfinished business, but I think why not have the possibility again to challenge and to be involved in the Premier League and to challenge for the big things.”