Before Barcelona settled on Ronald Koeman as their new head coach, numerous reports indicated that the Catalan giant offered the job to former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino first. But, according to Pochettino, there is no truth in these rumors.
In a recent interview with Marca, Pochettino discussed the links with Barcelona and said that he never even met with the club.
“They didn’t offer me to coach Barca,” said . “I didn’t see myself with [president Josep Maria] Bartomeu.”
The original reports said that Pochettino strongly considered taking over, but ended up backing out as he believed the club is surrounded by too many controversies and drama. Also, he wasn’t sure about the reception he would receive from the club’s fans, considering that he coached their cross-town rivals Espanyol in the past.
Barca ultimately decided to hire Koeman, while Pochettino is still looking for the right offer after turning down Benfica and Monaco.
“I did have a call from Benfica and Monaco. I have no need to lie,” he added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Pochettino also discussed the offer from Real Madrid he received in 2018. He turned Los Blancos at the time to stay with Tottenham, but admits that this remains his “dream” job.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever coach Madrid, but of course, it’s my dream,” said Pochettino.
