Pedro Porro has no doubts that Tottenham Hotspur deserve to play in the Champions League this season.
The right-back has been speaking to Spanish newspaper ABC, who asked him about the manner in which Spurs qualified for the Europe’s elite club competition. There’s been a lot of chatter over whether they truly deserve to be there.
Tottenham won only 11 of their 38 Premier League games last season and finished 17th in the table, ahead of Leicester City, who were relegated.
Despite this, Spurs qualified for the Champions League by beating Manchester United, who finished 15th last season, in the Europa League final.
ABC asked the Spain international to comments on the north London club being in the Champions League group stages despite finishing 17th.
The 25-year-old acknowledged it was tough for Tottenham last season, explaining he saw different versions of his own club in two competitions.
“We had a very difficult year in the league due to many factors. Things weren’t going our way, we weren’t competing as we should have, because I saw two different teams, one in the Premier League and one in the Europa League,” he said.
“In the Europa League, we knew how to compete well, and that paid off. But when you don’t compete in a competition like the Premier League, where you have to be at 200% every game, it’s difficult.”
“At the end of the season, we won the Europa League and we’re going to play in the Champions League this year. We deserve it.”
Tottenham also ended their 17-year-old trophy drought with their success in May, but that didn’t stop chairman Daniel Levy from sacking Ange Postecoglou.
Levy appointed Thomas Frank as his successor, and the north London club have six points from three games. Spurs face Villarreal later this month in their first Champions League group stage fixture of the season.