Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has hit back at Antonio Conte, suggesting the Chelsea boss spent his way to the title after a £120 million transfer splurge over the summer.
Conte touched a nerve with the Argentine by claiming Tottenham held an advantage in the title race due to both the lower expectations surrounding the club and Pochettino’s longer time in charge.
But Pochettino, who is in his third season with Spurs, has rejected that suggestion, aiming a dig at the amount of money Chelsea have thrown at their latest title victory and highlighting the lack of young players in their squad.
‘I understand him. It’s difficult for him because he was always a manager who liked to work with and to develop young talent,’ said Pochettino prior to Chelsea’s title-clinching win over West Brom.
‘It’s difficult when you sign for a club like Chelsea and you have the pressure to win and you spend the money that they spent on David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, [Michy] Batshuayi and [N’Golo] Kante. I totally understand but I don’t know if I agree with him that it’s an advantage.
‘Then [Arsenal manager] Arsene Wenger should win the league every season because he is 20 years in charge, if that is the right way to measure our advantage.
‘I think it’s not fair to measure with me, as it is to measure with Wenger. Twenty years is a massive advantage. Why not win every season? It’s not a criticism [of Wenger]. It was not the best comment from him [Conte].’
It was £30m summer signing Batshuayi who scored the goal that sealed the title at the Hawthorns on Friday night, coming off the bench to score only his second league goal for Chelsea.
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