Revealed: What happened when Mauricio Pochettino met Barcelona’s president

Mauricio Pochettino & Barcelona

One of the stories of the day in England on Saturday was the news that Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino

recently met Barcelona’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
According to the Times, the meeting happened at a restaurant in the Catalan city called Farga.
The obvious conclusion from the meeting was that Barcelona, who know that Luis Enrique is leaving at the end of the season, could be trying to land Tottenham’s boss as a replacement.
The 45-year-old Argentine knows Barcelona well, having played a large chunk of his career for Espanyol before starting his managerial career also with Barca’s main city rival.

Pochettino does he own deals

Famously, Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t have an agent.

Instead, in a rarity in the modern game, Pochettino negotiates his deals all by himself.
It’s also worth noting that Pochettino’s Spurs contract runs until 2021 and he has no release clause.

So is the deal on?

The Times made it clear that while the meeting did happen, that didn’t mean a move was definitely on:
Pochettino has been careful not to rule out interest in the Barcelona job, but has said that he is happy to see out his contract at Tottenham. He also admitted that he believed he was on a long list of “100 names” being considered to replace Enrique.

Talksport have also spoken to Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague on Saturday, who has further poured cold water on the transfer rumour. He told the British radio station:
It was just a chance meeting in a restaurant. They’ve known each other for about 15 years, their kids have been in the same school.
I can guarantee, 100 per cent, that Pochettino was with a bunch of friends having dinner. It was a chance meeting. They stood up, they greeted each other, hugged each other, and that was it!