Mauricio Pochettino has argued that Pochettino’s former club Tottenham Hotspur should have been awarded the 2016-17 Premier League title after Chelsea were found to have breached football regulations.
Chelsea were fined £10.75 million by the Premier League in March following an investigation into historical financial and regulatory breaches. The club had also faced the possibility of a six-point deduction, although that punishment was later set aside on appeal.
Tottenham finished second behind Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side in the 2016-17 campaign, ending the season seven points adrift of the champions.
Pochettino, who managed Spurs between 2014 and 2019, believes the subsequent findings mean his former team should now be recognised as the rightful champions.
According to the Argentine, Tottenham competed against Chelsea under unequal circumstances because of the undisclosed payments that were later uncovered.
The former Spurs boss argued that if Chelsea had been punished for breaking the rules, the title should have gone to the team that finished immediately behind them.
Pochettino also suggested that Tottenham might have been able to strengthen their squad and improve their campaign had both clubs operated under the same financial and regulatory conditions.
The current United States national team coach guided Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019 but left the club without winning a major trophy. His best Premier League finish came in the 2016-17 season when Spurs finished runners-up to Chelsea.
The Premier League investigation followed Chelsea’s disclosure of 74 potential breaches of Football Association rules after Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took control of the club in 2022.
Chelsea admitted that almost £47 million in undisclosed payments involving agents and third parties had been made in connection with transfers between 2011 and 2018.
The Premier League subsequently found that payments connected to Chelsea had been made to players, unregistered agents and other parties without being declared to the relevant authorities at the time.
Several transfers were referenced in the investigation, including deals involving Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic.
However, there was no allegation that the players themselves were involved in wrongdoing.
Despite the breaches, the Premier League concluded that Chelsea would not have violated its profitability and sustainability rules if the undisclosed payments had been properly registered. As a result, the league determined that a points deduction was not appropriate.
Chelsea’s main fine was reduced from £20 million to £10 million because of the club’s voluntary disclosure and cooperation with the investigation. The additional £750,000 penalty related to academy player registration breaches between 2019 and 2022.
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