MAURICIO POCHETTINO has ruled out ever managing Barcelona… and Arsenal.
By BRUCE ARCHER
Tottenham boss Pochettino has been linked with the Barcelona job since Luis Enrique announced he would be leaving the Nou Camp in the summer.
He previously refused to comment on the speculation and was then seen with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu last week in the city.
But today he said he could never manage Barcelona - and claimed he couldn't pitch up at the Emirates either due to his ties with Tottenham.
Pochettino played for Barcelona's rivals Espanyol and says his loyalty to them is too strong.
“I am an Espanyol supporter,” Pochettino said.
“I don’t need to speak too much. It’s like if one day Daniel Levy sacked me, in a few years, for me it would be impossible to manage Arsenal.
"It is so difficult to keep the values, to be loyal, with your heart, with your emotion. But for me, before being a manager, before being a player, being loyal is more important.
"I am an Espanyol fan, I love Espanyol. It’s like now Tottenham for me. It will be impossible one day to move to Arsenal, impossible.”
And the 45-year-old insisted his meeting with Bartomeu was purely coincidence.
“I don’t like to speak about rumour, but that wasn’t a rumour because it was true,” Pochettino said.
“It was a coincidence in a bar in Barcelona last Tuesday. Because I know him for a long time, before, before he became chairman of Barcelona.
"Many people around us see us to say hello. We spend five minutes together. That was the reality. You know the rumour after is impossible to stop.”
By BRUCE ARCHER
He previously refused to comment on the speculation and was then seen with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu last week in the city.
But today he said he could never manage Barcelona - and claimed he couldn't pitch up at the Emirates either due to his ties with Tottenham.
Pochettino played for Barcelona's rivals Espanyol and says his loyalty to them is too strong.
“I am an Espanyol supporter,” Pochettino said.
“I don’t need to speak too much. It’s like if one day Daniel Levy sacked me, in a few years, for me it would be impossible to manage Arsenal.
"It is so difficult to keep the values, to be loyal, with your heart, with your emotion. But for me, before being a manager, before being a player, being loyal is more important.
"I am an Espanyol fan, I love Espanyol. It’s like now Tottenham for me. It will be impossible one day to move to Arsenal, impossible.”
And the 45-year-old insisted his meeting with Bartomeu was purely coincidence.
“I don’t like to speak about rumour, but that wasn’t a rumour because it was true,” Pochettino said.
“It was a coincidence in a bar in Barcelona last Tuesday. Because I know him for a long time, before, before he became chairman of Barcelona.
"Many people around us see us to say hello. We spend five minutes together. That was the reality. You know the rumour after is impossible to stop.”
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