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This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that he could have left the club if they had won the Champions League at the end of the 2018/19 season, per BBC Sport.
What’s he said?
Spurs confounded critics to reach the final of the elite European competition.
Pochettino said before their semi-final win over Ajax that winning the competition could see him depart the club and he has now confirmed that he was genuine in his claim.
Of course, Liverpool won 2-0.
He said: "When you touch the glory, you behave differently, the players behave differently, the challenge becomes different.
"If the result had been different, maybe you can think it is a moment to step out of the club and give it a possibility for a real new chapter with a new coaching staff.
"But, to finish like this? I am not a person who won't face problems or avoids difficult situations."
The worst possible scenario
Pochettino has been almost perfect at Spurs.
He rescued the club from the toxicity of Tim Sherwood’s reign and has turned them into Champions League regulars.
More than that, Spurs reached the final and have routinely challenged for the Premier League title.
Departing would have made the club’s victory remarkably pyrrhic.
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Of course, they lost to the Reds in Spain and one has to feel that, after Pochettino’s revelation, that was maybe best-case scenario.
At this stage in the team’s development – Spurs are on the verge of establishing themselves as a truly elite club – losing Pochettino would have been disastrous.
Bringing another manager in invariably leads to personnel changes and tactical tweaks, and the chances of Tottenham appointing an equally capable replacement would always have been rather slim - Pochettino's just that good.
Seeing the Argentine leave, especially at this stage of Tottenham's progression, may not have been worth even the greatest trophy in the club football.