Pochettino: Chelsea's 2017 Title Should Be Awarded to Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea should be stripped of their 2016-17 Premier League title, a season in which his Tottenham side finished as runners-up.

In March, the Blues were fined £10.75 million after the Premier League brought charges for historical breaches of competition rules. The club also faced a six-point deduction, but this penalty was 'suspended' following an appeal. During the 2016-17 season, Antonio Conte's Chelsea team finished seven points clear of Pochettino's Spurs.

Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital self-reported 74 breaches of FA rules when they acquired the club in 2022. The Blues admitted to making secret payments totaling £47 million to unregistered agents and third parties for transfers between 2011 and 2018.

Pochettino, who managed Tottenham from 2014 to 2019, stated: “We should have won a title, a Premier League. It should have been awarded to us.”

“Chelsea were sanctioned, they admitted it, and that's it? The title should go to the team that finished second,” he added. “It's true that we weren't competing under the same rules. It's completely fair to say we didn't start the season on a level playing field.”

The current US national team coach led Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019 during his five-year tenure with Spurs. The team did not win any trophies under his leadership, with their best Premier League finish being second place behind Chelsea in 2017. In the same season, Pochettino's side was also defeated 4-2 by Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals.

“Perhaps under the same rules, if we were applying the same things, we would have signed some players to make the team better or score more goals,” added the Argentine, who later managed Chelsea for the 2023-24 season.

“I'm not complaining. This is the truth. Since they admitted they broke the rules, the Premier League title belongs to the second-best team. I'm not afraid to speak the truth. Chelsea fans will be angry with me for saying this, but if we were at Tottenham and had broken the rules, I would admit the same,” Pochettino concluded.