The former Tottenham Hotspur boss spoke about something he read in a newspaper and made his podcast hosts laugh in unison
Mauricio Pochettino appeared to take a little shot at Chelsea when discussing how close Tottenham came to winning a Premier League title under him.
The 54-year-old led Spurs to a couple of title challenges during his five-and-a-half years in north London. The first saw Leicester claim the Premier League trophy in 2015/16 and then the following season Antonio Conte's Chelsea finished above Pochettino's side, who were deemed by many to be the league's most entertaining team that season with more goals scored but also the best defence. Tottenham lost fewer games than Chelsea that season but crucially drew eight games to the Blues' three.
Chelsea were fined £10.75million last month and handed a suspended transfer ban for secret payments made to agents worth £47.5m between 2011 and 2018, when Roman Abramovich was owner, and breaches of rules around registering youth players. The Premier League report named a number of transfers related to the secret payments, including deals for Eden Hazard, Willian, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic, all of who played during that season when the Blues finished above Tottenham.
Some pundits and journalists have offered up the opinion that Chelsea should have lost their silverware during the seasons in question and Pochettino appeared to be referencing that when speaking about Spurs on The Overlap's latest episode of Stick to Football. His apparent reference to Chelsea brought laughter from hosts Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Jill Scott, and Ian Wright even though the Argentine, a former Blues boss himself, claimed it did not mean he believed that, only that it was what he had read.
"In the time we were there [at Spurs], for me it was the best club, we were enjoying it there and we felt that we could win. It really hurts me when people say other things about Tottenham. It's not like this. Tottenham have a history, an amazing history and it's not easy to win, to compete," said Pochettino.
"I think when we were competing there, maybe, maybe, I was reading in some paper that maybe we deserved some Premier League title because some club broke the rules (cue laughter from the hosts).
"But it's true! I don't say that! It was in a newspaper. But when we were competing there, we were competing with big people, big clubs that were not building a new stadium - well maybe Arsenal before - and you know how much you struggle when you build a new stadium.
"This period was really, really tough, which is why for me every season was more than winning a title because we were always fighting up there for the Premier League."
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Pochettino believes Tottenham's size as a club is shown in how many supporters he bumps into around the world, wherever he may be in any moment.
"I can talk from my experience in Tottenham and what I can tell you for me it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. People around the USA, South America, England, Spain, Europe, I don't know if it's coincidence but there are Tottenham fans [there] and Tottenham fans who can help me," he said.
"One day I was using a company and I arrived and they said I could not travel because my seat was gone and some guy came and said 'oh you are Pochettino, don't worry about what my boss say, you are going to be fine'. Or I am in London and stop a taxi and it's 'oh Mauricio, I am a Tottenham fan'. Tottenham fans are everywhere.
"For me it's a massive club with a massive following. It's crazy and now it's a club that I think has everything to be successful because the facilities are the best, the training ground, the stadium, more than 60,000 fans [every week], they have passion."