Pochettino says Tottenham should be awarded 2016-17 title
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham should be handed the 2016-17 Premier League title after Chelsea's historical financial breaches.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham should be awarded the 2016-17 Premier League title.
- Chelsea were fined £10.75m in March over historical competition rule breaches.
- The current Chelsea owners self-reported 74 FA rule breaches upon buying the club in 2022.
- The Premier League concluded a points deduction was unwarranted despite secret payments.
Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has argued that his former club should be retrospectively awarded the Premier League title for the 2016-17 season, following disciplinary actions taken against Chelsea for past rule violations during a campaign where Spurs finished as runners-up.
The controversy stems from disclosures made by Chelsea's current ownership group, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who self-reported 74 breaches of Football Association rules when they acquired the club in 2022. Subsequent investigations revealed that the Stamford Bridge club made £47m in undisclosed payments to unregistered agents and third parties during transfers conducted between 2011 and 2018.
Pochettino, who managed Tottenham from 2014 to 2019 and currently serves as the United States national team head coach, voiced his firm belief that his squad deserved the top honor. He pointed out that since Chelsea admitted wrongdoing and faced financial penalties, the championship trophy should naturally be redirected to the team that finished directly behind them in second place.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
"We should win one title, one Premier League. We should have been awarded it. [Chelsea] were punished, they admitted, so that's it? The title should be for the team that was second."
The Premier League's investigation highlighted several high-profile player transfers tied to those hidden payments between 2011 and 2018, including Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle, and Nemanja Matic. Officials emphasized that there was no suggestion of wrongdoing by any of the players, with Hazard, Willian, Matic, and David Luiz all featuring prominently in Chelsea's 2016-17 title-winning campaign.
Although Chelsea faced a £10m fine—which was halved due to their proactive self-operation and cooperation—alongside an additional £750,000 fine in March for academy player registration infractions between 2019 and 2022 that triggered a nine-month transfer ban, the league determined that a points deduction was unwarranted. Financial recalculations indicated that registering those payments at the time would not have breached profitability and sustainability regulations.
Retrospective awarding of league titles remains an extraordinarily rare occurrence in top-tier European football, as governing bodies typically preserve historical league tables regardless of subsequent financial or administrative sanctions. Pochettino's comments highlight the lingering frustration felt by competitors who narrowly missed out on domestic glory during eras impacted by regulatory discrepancies.
Source: BBC Sport
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