Pochettino: "Winning the Champions League? It should be fantastic, no? Close the five-year chapter and go home"
Wednesday 8 May 2019 21:10, UK
Mauricio Pochettino has suggested he could leave Tottenham if the club achieve a "miracle" Champions League triumph.
Tottenham need to overturn a 1-0 semi-final first-leg deficit in Amsterdam on Wednesday if they are to book an all-English final against Liverpool in Madrid on June 1.
Pochettino believes he would not be able to "repeat the miracle" and he would contemplate finding a new challenge if Spurs lifted their first European trophy since the UEFA Cup in 1984.
The Argentine has been the subject of reported interest over jobs at Manchester United and Real Madrid in the last year and is targeting his first trophy since taking charge in 2014.
Asked whether he thought winning the Champions League would have been possible five years ago, he said: "Winning the Champions League? It should be fantastic, no? Close the five-year chapter and go home."
To win the Champions League with Tottenham in these circumstances this season, maybe I need to think about maybe doing something different in the future.
Pochettino has established Tottenham in Europe's top-tier competition since his arrival from Southampton and indicated his claim about possibly leaving was serious.
He added: "It's not a joke, why? To win the Champions League with Tottenham in these circumstances this season, maybe I need to think about maybe doing something different in the future.
"Because to repeat the miracle, you know..."
Tottenham are all but assured of Champions League qualification through their Premier League finish unless there is an eight-goal swing in Arsenal's favour on Sunday's final day of the season.
Spurs will make history if they reach the final of the European Cup for the first time and even if they cannot do it, Pochettino reiterated he is "living the dream".
"For us it's a bonus, for myself it's a bonus," he said. "Of course now we are there, we want to try to win, we want to win and be in the final.
"I'm not thinking about if we are creating history or doing something special.
"The most important is to try and enjoy, to try and bring to the players that belief, as we have done to get here but we must also dream."
