Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino responded on Thursday to rumors that he wanted to leave the French team and return to coach Tottenham Hotspur, as well as his candidacy to succeed Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.
British media reported today that Tottenham is in talks to take back Pochettino, who was sacked by the club in November 2019, and then take over as Saint-Germain coach in January and have a contract with him until June 2022.
And the Spanish press confirmed today, Thursday, that Pochettino has entered the circle of candidates to train Real Madrid with Antonio Conte and Raul.
Saint-Germain ended the season with one major title, the French Cup, after losing the league by one point over Lille, and was bidding farewell to the Champions League by the final, and Pochettino said he wished he had more time to work with the team.
Pochettino answered the question about the possibility of his departure to Tottenham or Real Madrid indirectly, in an interview on the club's website, by saying, "We have achieved certain goals. We have not succeeded in achieving all the goals, but I think we have laid a good foundation."
"I am happy with the players' way of adapting to changes. There are a lot of things that we have not succeeded in changing or developing due to lack of time, but I believe with this way of working and the desire to develop other types of ideas on the field it will be possible to do great things in the future.
The winner is .. @KMbappe 🤷‍♂️
🔝🏆🏅 #TropheesUNFP pic.twitter.com/424ZsU16Kv
- Paris Saint-Germain FC (@PSGarab) May 23, 2021
Pochettino said he has also forged a strong relationship with the Saint-Germain players over the past five months.
"In a short time you can establish a very strong relationship. Obviously, we, the coaching team, came here and received affection and love from everyone," he added.
Tottenham fired Pochettino's services in November 2019, six months after leading the team to the Champions League final the previous season.
Tottenham ended the season in seventh place in the Premier League after being sacked by Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho last April, days before the League Cup final, with Ryan Mason taking over the job temporarily.