A jubilant Mauricio Pochettino remained coy on the topic of his future as Tottenham Hotspur manager after the prospect of winning the Champions League moved to within 90 minutes of his grasp.
Tottenham booked their place in the 1 June Champions League final against Liverpool with a stunning 3-3 aggregate draw with Ajax, progressing due to the away goals rule, to secure the first all-Premier League final since the 2008 showcase between Manchester United and Chelsea.
But after the immediate shock of the result – which came via a 96th-minute match-winner from Lucas Moura – had worn off for Pochettino and his players, the Argentine was reminded of his pre-match comments that he could leave the club if they win the Champions League.
Pochettino made the surprising admission that a Champions League triumph would be the perfect way to end his five-year chapter with Spurs and “return home”, thought he did stop short of saying directly that he would leave in the event of them winning the 1 June final against Liverpool.
During an interview with BeinSports, Pochettino was asked: “You're not really going to quit are you?”
The Tottenham manager simply replied “we’ll see” with a smile on his face, having consulted his translator first.
Talk of what would be a shock exit was triggered by Pochettino himself during Tuesday’s press conference in Amsterdam. When asked about what winning the Champions League would mean to him, Pochettino teased: “Winning the Champions League? It should be fantastic, no? (I could) Close the five year chapter and go home.
Pushed to clarify if he meant he would leave, Pochettino explained that he would need to consider his future, and insisted he was not playing with the reporters in the room
“It's not a joke,” he added. “Why? To win the Champions League with Tottenham, in this circumstance, in this season, maybe I need to think a little bit to do something different in the future, for sure.”
