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Mauricio Pochettino has said Tottenham should have been handed the 2017 Premier League title after Chelsea admitted to breaking financial rules.

The Blues, who finished ahead of Tottenham to win the 2016-17 title, were fined £10m this summer after acknowledging that secret payments had been made to agents between 2011 and 2018.

Chelsea admitted they paid as much as £47m to unregistered agents and third parties in deals involving several important players during that period, including star forward Eden Hazard.

The breaches happened during the Roman Abramovich era, and Chelsea’s current owners, BlueCo, reported them themselves after taking over the club in 2022, but no sporting punishment was imposed.

But what would have happened if there had been sporting sanctions? In a wide-ranging interview, Pochettino said Tottenham and Chelsea “didn’t compete with the same rules” in that title race, and other clubs could feel the same way too.

“Maybe we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals,” Pochettino said. “It’s not me complaining. It’s the truth.”

Runners-up: Liverpool

This came right at the beginning of the period for which Chelsea were later sanctioned by the Premier League, while the Stamford Bridge side were also charged by the FA over alleged breaches of its agent regulations, mainly linked to the seasons from 2010/11 to 2015/16. The 2012 FA Cup final, in which Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1, still featured established names such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, but the opening goal at Wembley was scored by Ramires, the Brazilian midfielder who arrived from Benfica in 2010 and whose transfer was later examined as part of the investigation.

Runners-up: Tottenham Hotspur

Mauricio Pochettino may not put the 2014-15 Carabao Cup in the same bracket as the 2016-17 Premier League title, but it was still another competition in which Spurs ended up runners-up to their London rivals. John Terry and Diego Costa scored for the Blues at Wembley as Chelsea lifted the first trophy of Jose Mourinho’s second spell in charge. Eden Hazard, Willian and Ramires all featured in that final, and all were among the players whose transfers were found to be linked to secret payments to agents.

Runners-up: Manchester City

Chelsea cruised to the title in Mourinho’s second season after returning to the club, with the arrivals of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa proving crucial. Eden Hazard was named player of the year, while midfielder Nemanja Matic made the team of the year; Matic’s transfer from Benfica in January 2014 was another deal that came under Premier League scrutiny. Manchester City never truly looked like genuine challengers that season. City, though, are still waiting for the outcome of the hearing into their own financial charges. The Premier League alleges City’s rule breaches took place between 2009 and 2018. City have consistently and strongly denied the accusations. Arsenal finished third that season.

Runners-up: Tottenham Hotspur

If there was one season in which Tottenham looked most likely to win the Premier League under Mauricio Pochettino, it was this one. Spurs went unbeaten at home in their final season at White Hart Lane, scored more goals than Chelsea and conceded fewer than the eventual champions. They ended the campaign on a club-record 86 points. “For sure, we [Tottenham] deserve to be champions for that year because we were second best,” Pochettino said. “We should have been awarded it. We should win one title, one Premier League. They [Chelsea] were punished, they admitted it, so that’s it. The title should be for the team that was second. It’s not me complaining, it’s the truth. We didn’t compete with the same rules. The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I’m saying this. But if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules, I’d admit the same and say ‘look, we don’t deserve the title because we broke the rules’.”

While Pochettino praised Antonio Conte’s influence at Chelsea, with the Italian taking Stamford Bridge to the title in his first season in English football after the Blues had finished 10th the previous year, the Argentinian said he had “no doubt” that Eden Hazard once again made the difference that season. The Belgian winger scored 16 Premier League goals, while centre-back David Luiz — another Chelsea player whose transfer to the club was part of the Premier League investigation, after joining the Blues from Benfica in 2011 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2016 — enjoyed arguably his best season in English football as part of Conte’s back three.

Runners-up: Manchester United

A second FA Cup final also falls within the period investigated by the FA and the Premier League. Eden Hazard scored a first-half penalty as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea beat Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. Hazard also scored in Chelsea’s 4-1 victory over Arsenal in the Europa League final the following year. During Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership, from 2003 to 2022, Chelsea won 21 major trophies, including two Champions Leagues, five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, two League Cups and two Europa Leagues.