“Strip Chelsea Of That Title” Pochettino Wants Tottenham Crowned Champions

“Strip Chelsea of That Title” – Pochettino Wants Tottenham Crowned Champions Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has called for Chelsea to be stripped of their 2016-17 Premier League title, arguing that the trophy should instead be awarded retrospectively to Tottenham. Pochettino made the controversial claim after Chelsea were punished for historical financial and regulatory breaches dating back to the Roman Abramovich era. Tottenham finished second behind Chelsea that season under Pochettino. Chelsea were fined £10.75 million by the Premier League in March 2026 after the club voluntarily reported evidence of historical rule breaches. The violations involved undisclosed payments to players, unregistered agents and third parties between 2011 and 2018. The Premier League investigation followed Chelsea’s disclosure of potential irregularities after the club’s change of ownership in 2022. The Football Association also imposed a £10 million fine and a suspended two-window transfer ban over separate historical violations. Some of the transactions under scrutiny involved players who played important roles in Chelsea’s 2016-17 title-winning campaign, including Eden Hazard, Willian and David Luiz. Pochettino believes Chelsea’s punishment did not go far enough and that the sporting consequences should have included the removal of the Premier League title. “We should win one Premier League, we should have been awarded it,” Pochettino said. He argued that Tottenham did not compete on equal terms because Chelsea’s rule breaches allegedly affected their ability to build and strengthen their squad. According to Pochettino, if Chelsea had broken the rules and were subsequently punished, the logical outcome would be for the team that finished second to inherit the championship. Chelsea, managed by Antonio Conte, won the 2016-17 Premier League title with 93 points, finishing seven points ahead of Pochettino’s Tottenham. Spurs collected a club-record 86 points, winning 26 of their 38 league matches and finishing as runners-up. Chelsea’s title-winning side was also powered by Eden Hazard, who scored 16 league goals during the campaign. Pochettino acknowledged that Chelsea played well and praised Conte’s management but insisted that competition could not be considered fair if one club had breached the regulations. He said Tottenham could have made different recruitment decisions had they been competing under the same circumstances. The Argentine added that he would take the same position if the roles were reversed and Tottenham were the club found guilty of breaking the rules. Despite Pochettino’s argument, there has been no decision to retrospectively award the 2016-17 Premier League title to Tottenham. Chelsea’s punishments included financial penalties and transfer restrictions rather than the removal of their league title or a retrospective points deduction. Reuters reported that Chelsea accepted the punishment and agreed to cover the costs of the league’s investigation. Pochettino’s comments have nevertheless reopened debate over whether clubs found guilty of serious historical breaches should face sporting sanctions that can alter past results and honours.