Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes his side should now be recognised as the 2016-17 Premier League champions following Chelsea’s punishment for historical breaches of competition regulations.
Chelsea were handed a £10.75 million fine in March after the Premier League found breaches dating back several years. A six-point deduction was also initially considered but was later “set aside” following an appeal.
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side finished the 2016-17 campaign seven points ahead of Tottenham, who ended the season as runners-up.
Chelsea’s current ownership, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, reported 74 potential breaches of Football Association regulations after completing their takeover of the club in 2022.
Among the issues uncovered were £47 million in undisclosed payments involving unregistered agents and other third parties connected to transfers carried out between 2011 and 2018.
Pochettino, who was in charge of Tottenham from 2014 until 2019, believes those revelations should have consequences for the title race from that season.
Pochettino’s views
“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.
“It’s true that we didn’t compete with the same rules. It’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card.” The Argentine tactician said.
Tottenham enjoyed one of their strongest campaigns under Pochettino in 2016-17, finishing second behind Chelsea. The Argentine also guided Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019, although his five-year spell at the club ended without a trophy.
Pochettino argued that operating under the same regulations as their rivals could have changed Tottenham’s ability to strengthen their squad.
“Maybe with the same rules, if we apply the same things, maybe we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals,” added Pochettino, who subsequently managed Chelsea during the 2023-24 season.
He insisted his comments were not motivated by bitterness, but by what he sees as a straightforward consequence of Chelsea admitting regulatory violations.
“It’s not me complaining – it’s the truth. If they admitted they broke the rules, the Premier League title was for the second-best team.
“I’m not scared to say the truth. 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.”
What were Chelsea punished for?
Chelsea themselves reported the potential breaches to the relevant authorities, saying the club “treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators”.
The Premier League’s subsequent investigation established that payments linked to third parties associated with Chelsea had been made to players, unregistered agents and other parties without being disclosed to the relevant regulatory bodies at the time.
The investigation covered several transfers completed between 2011 and 2018. Players whose transfers were referenced included Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic.
There was no allegation that any of those players had personally committed wrongdoing. Hazard, Willian, Matic and David Luiz were all members of Chelsea’s squad during the 2016-17 title-winning campaign.
The Premier League also reviewed Chelsea’s previous financial submissions after taking the undisclosed payments into account. Its assessment found that the club would still have complied with the profitability and sustainability rules had the payments been properly declared at the time.
As a result, the league decided that deducting points would not be a suitable punishment.
Chelsea’s main financial penalty was £10 million rather than £20 million after the club received a 50 per cent reduction because it had voluntarily reported the issues and cooperated with the investigation.
A separate £750,000 fine was imposed over the registration of academy players between 2019 and 2022. Chelsea were also given an immediate nine-month ban on registering academy players.
Despite the financial penalties, Chelsea retained their 2016-17 Premier League title, meaning Pochettino’s latest comments are unlikely to alter the official record of that season.
