Mauricio Pochettino opens door to Tottenham return despite Chelsea commitment
- Mauricio Pochettino set for first game against Tottenham since leaving in 2019
- Argentine appointed Chelsea manager during the summer
- Refuses to rule out returning to Spurs in the future, despite leading a rival
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that even getting booed by Tottenham Hotspur fans won't put him off potentially returning to the club in the future.
Pochettino, sacked by Spurs in November 2019 – mere months after guided the club to a first ever Champions League final appearance – is preparing to face his former team for the first time on Monday night as west London meets north London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Now in charge of a local rival, the Argentine admitted that his "emotional links" and "feelings" towards Tottenham are not broken four years later, and even a hostile reception wouldn’t necessarily deter him from working for the club again.
"Yes, our relationship broke when I finished my contract," Pochettino said. "But we are talking about the emotional links and feelings, and that's not broken. It's not going to be broken if they boo me. It's not going to change my history, my past. It is something that will always be with you."
Regarding a return to Spurs, Pochettino added: "Who knows? It's like life, you never know what is going to happen tomorrow. We need to enjoy today. I think now [that I am] 51, I am thinking more about that and enjoying today and not looking too much in the future, in the long term. But, why not?
"Why [would Chelsea block a move]? Hopefully, I can stay here until I die! 20 or 25 years, but you never know in football. It's a club, for sure if I'm not working, maybe if they want me one day...why not?"
A lot of Tottenham fans were upset to see Pochettino join a rival like Chelsea during the summer. 90min understands that he would have been interested in returning to Spurs earlier this year. But there was no contact made from his former employer, who hired Ange Postecoglou in June.
Chelsea were not on the list of clubs that Pochettino said he would never manage, having ruled out Arsenal out of loyalty to Spurs and Barcelona out of loyalty to Espanyol.
"I only said the only teams I would never manage are Arsenal and Barcelona. It is a strange feeling to come back after four years, for me, it is going to be a happy day. But that's life and we need to move on," he said in the build-up to Monday night.
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