Pochettino Calls for Tottenham to Be Awarded 2016-17 Premier League Title

Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham Hotspur should be retrospectively recognised as Premier League champions for 2016-17 after Chelsea were sanctioned over undisclosed historic payments. Spurs, managed by Pochettino at the time, ended that campaign second, seven points behind Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.

What changed for the club

Chelsea received a £10.75million ($14.5m) fine in March and an immediate nine-month ban on academy transfers after the Premier League’s investigation into conduct between 2011 and 2018. The case followed information supplied after Todd Boehly’s consortium took control of Chelsea in 2022.

• The Premier League identified payments from third parties connected to Chelsea involving players, unregistered agents and other recipients.
• Chelsea were found not to have disclosed those payments as required by competition rules.
• The league determined that including the payments in the relevant submissions would not have created a breach of its financial regulations.
• The Football Association has also brought 74 alleged rule breaches against Chelsea.

Pochettino argued that the punishment should have extended to the 2016-17 title. He said Tottenham and Chelsea had not begun the season under equivalent conditions, adding that Spurs might have strengthened differently had the same rules applied to both clubs.

The Argentina coach said Chelsea’s admission and subsequent punishment made a case for awarding the championship to the side that finished second. He stressed that he would hold the same view had Tottenham been the club found to have broken the rules, while accepting that Chelsea won matches and scored the goals that delivered the title.

Competition context

Pochettino spent five years in charge of Tottenham, taking the club to the 2019 Champions League final before Daniel Levy dismissed him five months later. He later took charge of Chelsea for the 2023-24 season and is now manager of the United States national team.

Levy was invited to step down as Tottenham chairman by the Lewis family, the club’s majority owners, last September. Pochettino said he did not take satisfaction from Levy’s departure, but suggested the former chairman would understand the pain of being removed after 25 years building the club.

Tottenham’s 2025-26 season ended with survival secured only on the final day. Roberto De Zerbi guided the side clear of relegation and has since received substantial backing from the Lewis family, with more than £350m committed to incoming players during the summer.

Pochettino welcomed the investment, particularly the opportunity to recruit established Premier League performers. It contrasts sharply with the financial restraint during his own spell, when the stadium redevelopment limited spending and Tottenham made no signings in his final complete campaign, 2018-19.

He said he still considers Tottenham his club and wants the spending to benefit supporters and staff.

What is scheduled next

Pochettino is preparing the United States for the summer World Cup, a commitment he said prevented any possible return to Tottenham during last season’s difficulties. He said the timing of previous contacts had never aligned: approaches arrived when he was employed, while no offer came when he was available.

Had Tottenham been relegated to the Championship, Pochettino said he would still have been prepared to help if he had been free. He described Spurs as the one club he would always be open to assisting, regardless of division, and said a reunion could happen if circumstances eventually align.