Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino refused to rule out rumours over his future at the club after being put in a “compromising” position with a question about Real Madrid.
The Spurs boss has previously been heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu but has remained in north London, with Zinedine Zidane returning to the Spanish giants less than a year after leaving.
However, when asked about the reports Pochettino simply insisted he was not looking at the long term plan, instead focusing on his Spurs future with no fear he has missed a chance to take over Real Madrid.
Probed about the rumours linking him with the Real job, he told Mundo Deportivo: “You put me in a compromising (position). I do not have the feeling of having missed the Madrid train. I do not look long term, I’m happy and I still have four years of contract.
“There are always rumours, not only with me but with other colleagues, but 90% are false.”
Opinion
An interesting statement from the Spurs man, who certainly does not seem to be giving too much away about his future. The Madrid job will always have his name attached on the shortlist after not only impressing at Tottenham but having a rivalry with Barcelona after his time at Espanyol – the Catalan giants’ city rivals. Whether he takes on the role any time soon remains to be seen, and plenty of that will revolve around what he can achieve in north London. He has already worked wonders to get the Lilywhites to where they are today, especially when you consider the amount of spending that has taken place at their rivals in the Premier League, so the question will be whether he can take them any further. If he can, he will because Spurs are his project and he would want to see it to the end. If he feels he has hit the buffers, then there are few bigger steps up than the Real Madrid job – and it seems a matter of when, not if, he takes charge in the Bernabeu’s dugout.