Mauricio Pochettino met with the Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu earlier this week and it seems like the Tottenham hierarchy already knew about it.
Luis Enrique surprisingly announced that he would leave Barcelona at the end of the season. Barca have since been on the hunt for a good manager, who would fit the club’s playing philosophy. A lot of names were linked and it now looks like the Tottenham manager is on the radar of the Barcelona president.
The source at Tottenham said Pochettino and Bartomeu have been friends for years, and that the club knew of the meeting in a central Barcelona restaurant.
Though Luis Enrique has announced his departure, Barca are still contenders for the league title and also the Champions League. Barcelona magically managed to turn around a 4 goal deficit against PSG, after winning 6-1 at Camp Nou to seal their berth in the quarterfinal stage of the competition.
Pochettino owns a property in Barcelona, where both of his sons were born. But he spent 10 years as a player and coach with Barcelona’s local rivals Espanyol, and in September referred to Barca as his “sporting enemy.”
Pochettino has successfully converted Tottenham into title challengers. Last season, Spurs fell agonizingly short of the title and ended up finishing 2nd, in what was virtually a two-horse race for the title.
They also haven’t finished above their local rivals Arsenal, ever since Wenger took over and they would be determined to change it this season.
he signed a new five-year contract in May before guiding them to a club-record third-place finish in the Premier League.
Asked about speculation he could manage Barcelona shortly before Luis Enrique announced his departure last month, Pochettino said: “I can’t say anything. I’m at Tottenham. I am very happy, [I have] four more years of my contract, enjoying an exciting project. It’s true it’s not an easy project, but I’m very happy here.”
It will surely be a huge blow for Tottenham if Pochettino decides to leave England to try his luck once again, in Spain. A new exciting project is about to get underway and if Pochettino decides to fix Tottenham in his heart, then he would be on course to beat Arsene Wenger.
Hopefully, he stays at White Hart Lane.
