POCH OUTBURST AT ‘ENEMY’ XAVI
MAURICIO POCHETTINO delivered a stinging rebuke to former Barcelona captain Xavi for linking Dele Alli with a move to Manchester City — and insisted Tottenham will only sell players they do not want to keep. Several Tottenham stars are coveted by Europe’s biggest clubs after another strong campaign but Pochettino is determined to keep his young team together. Xavi claimed his old Barca boss Pep Guardiola is considering a move for Alli at the end of the season but the Spurs boss, who played for and coached Barcelona’s city rivals Espanyol, hit back. ‘Xavi is my enemy and tried to destroy our focus to win,’ said Pochettino. ‘Maybe he is working for Manchester City, he wants to help Guardiola. ‘He hates me because he is a Barcelona player and a fan. I know him very well, I played against him a lot and when I was a manager.’ He added: ‘Clubs with a lot of potential are now focused on our talented players because we’re doing good things.’
Mauricio Pochettino has promised that Tottenham will only sell the players they want to as he lashed out at Xavi for daring to link Dele alli with a move to Manchester city.
Several of his young team are coveted by Europe’s biggest clubs after another strong campaign.
inter Milan have their eyes on Toby alderweireld, Manchester city want Danny rose and Manchester united are interested in Eric Dier and Kyle Walker.
Xavi claimed his old boss Pep Guardiola was plotting a move for alli but Pochettino, who played for and coached Barcelona’s city rivals Espanyol, hit back by questioning his integrity.
‘Xavi is in a period when he loves to talk,’ said the Spurs manager. ‘He’s in Qatar, he is my enemy and he tried to destroy our focus to win. Maybe he is working for Manchester city, he wants to help Guardiola.
‘He hates me because he is a Barcelona player and a fan. i know him very well, i played against him a lot and when i was a manager.’
one incident sprang to mind when Xavi won a penalty, converted by Zlatan ibrahimovic to win a derby for Barca in December 2009. The Spurs boss had been recalling the game in a conversation with Thierry Henry, who visited the training ground on Monday.
‘He cheated the referee,’ said Pochettino. ‘He fell down and it wasn’t a penalty but ibrahimovic scored and they won the game. on the video it was funny because no-one touched him and everyone in the media was saying it was a penalty. come on, it was going from lie to lie to lie.’
Tottenham are prepared to launch alderweireld into the club’s top wage bracket on more than £100,000 a week to deter inter, but the manager accepts his best players will attract interest.
Pochettino added: ‘ For the fans, all the decisions we take are to try to improve the team and be more competitive next season.
‘You can see the team is improving and our decisions so far are good. Trust in the club.’
Pochettino also ordered his players to focus purely on the present as he paid tribute to Spurs youth coach ugo Ehiogu, who died last week. The manager added: ‘The last week has been difficult, starting on Thursday with the tragic situation with ugo.’
Players and staff who knew Ehiogu, including the medics who fought to save his life when he suffered a heart attack at the training ground, have been offered counselling to cope with the trauma.
‘We are lucky to have the staff we have,’ said Pochettino. ‘it was not a good thing that happened but it is good to recognise their value and how they work and care for us every day.’