Former Sky Sports presenter Simon Thomas has revealed how Mauricio Pochettino was the only football manager to personally reach out to him when his wife died.
Simon opened up about Pochettino's kindness as it was announced the Argentinean been sacked from Tottenham and replaced by Jose Mourinho.
As football fans began sharing their thoughts on the change, Simon took to Twitter to share how touched he'd been when Pochettino wrote to him after he lost wife Gemma, describing him as a 'class manager.'
Widower Simon tweeted: "When my wife died very suddenly two years ago, the one manager who took the time to write personally to me was Mauricio Pochettino and it was a heart felt letter. Class manager even better man."
Simon's followers were surprised to hear of the exchange between the two men, which he hadn't spoken of until the recent developments at Spurs.
"Pure class the guy. Sorry for your loss," one fan tweeted to Simon.
"Hes a gent, for sure. Deserves endless respect," another said of Pochettino.
A third agreed: "Sums him up Simon. A real man with true values. Gutted - loyalty works both ways and Some Spurs fans need to be very careful what they wish for. A very sad day!!!"
Simon worked closely with players and managers as part of his Sky Sports role, which he quit in April 2018 following the death of his wife Gemma.
Gemma died in November 2017 at the age of 40 just three days after she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
Simon spoke openly about his grief on social media, telling fans how he was "really struggling."
He then announced he was quitting his dream job at Sky to focus on his son Ethan.
Explaining his reasons in a blog post he wrote: "Firstly and most importantly, I'm doing it for Ethan.
"I remember Ethan coming up to me in the lounge and through his tears he said these words: 'Daddy, you know every weekend you go away and do the football and I spend the weekend with Mummy? What do I do now?'
"And they have stuck with me ever since."
