One of the biggest stories of the early summer was Zinedine Zidane leaving Real Madrid, and who would replace him at the club.
Mauricio Pochettino was an early frontrunner, all over the Spanish media. And whilst Tottenham fans may be trying to erase this part from their memories, he didn’t exactly talk the prospect down.
There was the Guillem Balague book launch quotes and a whole series of snippets from the Argentine which made it clear he’d quite fancy taking the job one day.
Florentino Perez would likely have appointed Pochettino happily, but the Madrid boss knows all about Daniel Levy.
The Spanish media have repeatedly reported that Perez is wary of dealing with the Spurs chief, and that’s why rumours of interest in Harry Kane and Dele Alli have always been more pushed by the English newspapers.
Pochettino stayed at Tottenham and signed a new contract, but the next time Real Madrid see a manager leave, which could possibly be a matter of months if Perez isn’t happy with Julen Lopetegui, the rumours will start again.
Saturday’s edition of Marca claims there was a ‘Meeting between Perez and Pochettino’ at The Best awards in London on Monday.
They call it a ‘curious encounter’ and it’s difficult to tell whether they’re overplaying a simple ‘Hello, how are you?’ into more than it was or whether there was a real chat between the two men.
