Less than a week ago, just hours before Tottenham announced the exit of Mauricio Pochettino, we covered an interview he’d given to Diario La Grada, a newspaper which covers Espanyol.
He was asked about returning to the Barcelona club, and said: “Yes. Look, although you never know… We are latinos. I like this city, La Liga and I love this club. I am enjoying England very much, and I don’t know when or where, but I would love to return to Spain.”
The ‘when’ part may be coming a lot quicker than he suspected when sharing those words. Tottenham sent out a press release on Tuesday evening confirming they’d parted ways with the manager, and the following morning Spurs announced Jose Mourinho as the new man in charge.
On Tuesday, Marca claim Pochettino has a ‘clear objective’ for his next job, and that’s to return to Spain. Despite again being linked with taking over at Manchester United, if and when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaves Old Trafford, the Spanish newspaper believe the manager is more focused on returning to a country he once called home.
Five possibilities are detailed. First up is Real Madrid, where Florentino Perez is a big fan, and then Sevilla, Valencia, Atletico and even Villarreal are named as clubs who ‘would be delighted’ to take him.It’s unlikely he’d turn down Manchester United for Villarreal, unless his return to Spain overrides everything else.
