Mauricio Pochettino has reignited debate over the 2016-17 Premier League season, insisting Tottenham Hotspur should have been crowned champions instead of Chelsea after the Blues admitted to breaching financial regulations tied to secret agent payments made under Roman Abramovich's ownership.
Chelsea were fined £10 million this summer after acknowledging they made undisclosed payments totaling as much as £47 million to unregistered agents and third parties between 2011 and 2018. The payments were connected to the signings of several prominent players, including Belgian forward Eden Hazard. Notably, the breaches were self-reported by Chelsea's current ownership group, BlueCo, following their 2022 takeover of the club, and no sporting sanctions were imposed as a result.
That lack of punishment has left rivals questioning what might have been. Pochettino, who guided Tottenham to a club-record 86 points during the 2016-17 campaign, argued that his side outperformed Chelsea in key metrics that season, scoring more goals and conceding fewer than the champions, while also going unbeaten at home in what proved to be their final season at White Hart Lane.
"For sure, we [Tottenham] deserve to be champions for that year because we were second best," Pochettino said. "We should have been awarded it. We should win one title, one Premier League. They [Chelsea] were punished, they admitted it, so that's it. The title should be for the team that was second. It's not me complaining, it's the truth. We didn't compete with the same rules."
The former Tottenham boss acknowledged the sensitivity of his comments, adding: "The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I'm saying this. But if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules, I'd admit the same and say 'look, we don't deserve the title because we broke the rules'."
Despite his frustration, Pochettino gave credit to Antonio Conte's tactical impact during that title-winning campaign, noting the Italian transformed Chelsea from a side that finished 10th the previous year into champions in his debut season. Still, the Argentine coach maintained that Hazard's individual brilliance, the winger scored 16 league goals that season, was the decisive factor. David Luiz, another player whose transfer fell under scrutiny in the Premier League's investigation, also enjoyed a standout campaign as part of Conte's back-three defense.
The 2016-17 title race is far from the only trophy affected by the timeline of Chelsea's breaches. The 2011-12 FA Cup final, won 2-1 against Liverpool, featured a goal from Ramires, whose transfer to Chelsea was also investigated. Tottenham were beaten finalists again in the 2014-15 Carabao Cup, losing to a Chelsea side featuring Hazard, Willian and Ramires, all players connected to the payment scandal. That same season, Chelsea also won the league title under Jose Mourinho, with Manchester City finishing as nominal challengers, though City themselves continue to await the outcome of a separate hearing into their own alleged financial rule breaches between 2009 and 2018, allegations City deny.
Manchester United also fell victim to a Hazard-inspired Chelsea side in the 2017-18 FA Cup final, where the Belgian scored a first-half penalty. Hazard was similarly influential when Chelsea beat Arsenal in the Europa League final the following year.
Overall, Chelsea won 21 major trophies during Abramovich's 19-year reign as owner, including two Champions Leagues, five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, two League Cups and two Europa League triumphs, an era now shadowed by questions over financial fair play compliance, even as no titles have been stripped or reallocated.
Based on reporting from The Independent.