After being dubbed ‘traitor’ over Tottenham situation, insistence Spaniard deserves ‘maximum respect’

Pau Lopez’s situation at Espanyol could be very different indeed.

The goalkeeper perhaps should be settling into a long contract at the Barcelona side and becoming a legend in the making for the club.

But that all changed when Pau moved to Tottenham last season on loan. The temporary deal was widely expected to turn permanent, with Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching team seeing a big future for the goalkeeper.

Tottenham decided they didn’t want to pay the fee agreed with Espanyol, around €7m, to make the move permanent and it all got rather tense.

Mundo Deportivo say it led to Espanyol fans turning against the youth product, calling him ‘traitor’ and similar, and all that made a renewal less likely.

With a contract ending in June, Pau is now expected to join Betis on a free transfer. It may be a surprise that Tottenham haven’t gone back in, considering Pau is now free, but the player would likely be hesitant about the move now.

Thanks to a Diego Lopez injury, Pau got into Espanyol’s team and has been so good the club won’t drop him despite the contract situation.

Given how much first team football Pau has been getting, it’s got to be considered unlikely he’d be keen to take a place on Tottenham’s bench behind Hugo Lloris.

Mundo Deportivo say, given Pau’s performances for Espanyol, the club’s fans should actually be giving him ‘maximum respect’.