‘I had the opportunity to join Real Madrid after Zinedine Zidane left, but I’d promised I would stay at Spurs until the stadium was built’ Mauricio Pochettino on turning down the Bernabeu

Mauricio Pochettino’s coaching journey has seen him manage some of Europe’s biggest and most high-profile clubs.

But like any career, it contains some tantalising ‘what ifs’.

One such crossroads came during the peak of his Tottenham tenure when the biggest club in the world came knocking.

Pochettino on turning down Real Madrid

At the end of the 2017/18 season, Pochettino had led Tottenham to third place in the Premier League, his third top-three finish on the bounce. Spurs also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup and the last-16 in the Champions League.

This had got him on the radar of Real Madrid, who were looking for a new manager after Zinedine Zidane stepped down, just days after winning his third consecutive Champions League title with the club.

In 2018, I had the opportunity to join Real Madrid after Zinedine Zidane left,” Pochettino reveals to FourFourTwo.

The Argentine had Spurs punching above their weight at the time, with the club continuing to progress on both the domestic and European fronts in the middle of a potentially disruptive new stadium project.

And it was amid this backdrop that Pochettino made his decision.

“However, Daniel Levy had always asked me to stay until the inauguration of the new stadium,” he continues.

“When Real Madrid called, I told them that I’d given my word to the chairman that I’d remain until the works were done.

“The only way I could have left was if Levy had authorised the negotiations, but I already knew that he wouldn’t accept it – and I wasn’t going to break my contract either.”

Pochettino’s final call, therefore, came down to him valuing his word over ambition.

“My ethics, my way of acting, told me I couldn’t leave under those circumstances.”