#mauricio-pochettino

#mauricio-pochettino

Defending himself, Pochettino pointed out that as a player, he wouldn't have wanted to converse with a manager who had just cut him from an international squad because ... well, why would you bother? What are you going to say? he parped. Am I going to lie? I understand the player, that didn't make the roster, they don't want to hear me say: Oh, apologise, oh, whatever.'

According to The Athletic, the former Tottenham and Paris St-Germain boss emailed players who were left out. In contrast, Pochettino sent video messages to the 26 players included in the squad. Speaking on ESPN's Futbol Americas show, former US forward Herculez Gomez - who praised ex-US manager Jurgen Klinsmann for informing him of his omission from the 2014 World Cup squad via voicemail - said it was inexcusable for Pochettino not to call those players he cut.

The Argentine's time at Paris Saint-Germain saw him manage the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and his compatriot Lionel Messi, but in terms of goals scored under Pochettino, none of that trio came close to Harry Kane. The England skipper plundered 169 goals for Tottenham during Pochettino's spell in charge of the north London side, a stint that convinced him that Kane belongs among the modern greats of the game.

"I love the country, its culture, the football culture," Pochettino told L'Equipe, as quoted by BBC Sport.

There are always rumours, I'm always linked [to clubs]. To Tottenham, just like at one time I was linked to Espanyol, or to other clubs. In the end, especially because of my past at those clubs, when things aren't going well, people tend to fall back on emotions and say, 'Well, with Mauricio we played good football,' or whatever it may be.