What other clubs could have won trophies if Chelsea were stripped of titles?

Mauricio Pochettino has claimed Tottenham should have been awarded the 2017 Premier League title after rivals Chelsea admitted to breaching financial rules.

The Blues, who beat Tottenham to the title in the 2016-17 season, were fined £10m this summer after admitting to making secret payments to agents between 2011 and 2018.

Chelsea admitted to paying up to £47m to unregistered agents and third-parties over the signings of several key players during that period, including to star forward Eden Hazard.

The breaches took place during the Roman Abramovich era and Chelsea’s new owners, BlueCo, self-reported them following the club’s takeover in 2022 – but they did not face sporting sanctions.

But what if they had been? During a wide-ranging interview, Pochettino said title rivals Tottenham and Chelsea “didn’t compete with the same rules” – and other clubs may feel similarly.

“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.”

FA Cup - 2011-12

Runners-up: Liverpool

This was right at the start of the period where Chelsea faced sanctions from the Premier League, while the Stamford Bridge club were also charged by the FA for alleged breaches of the governing body’s rules around agent regulations, primarily relating to the seasons between 2010/11 and 2015/16. The 2012 FA Cup final, where Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1, featured the old guard of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, but the opening goal at Wembley was scored by Ramires, the Brazilian midfielder who joined in 2010 from Benfica and whose transfer subsequently fell under investigation.

open image in gallery

(Getty)

Carabao Cup - 2014-15

Runners-up: Tottenham Hotspur

You could forgive Mauricio Pochettino for not mentioning the 2014-15 Carabao Cup in the same breath as the 2016-17 Premier League title, but it’s still a trophy where Spurs ultimately finished runners-up to their London rivals. John Terry and Diego Costa scored for the Blues at Wembley as Chelsea won their first trophy under Jose Mourinho’s second spell at the club. Eden Hazard, Willian and Ramires all played in the final and they were among the players whose signings were found to have been involved in the making of secret payments to agents.

(Getty Images)

Premier League - 2014-15

Runners-up: Manchester City

Chelsea won the title at a canter in Mourinho’s second season of his return, with the signings of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa proving pivotal. Eden Hazard was the player of the year and midfielder Nemanja Matic was named in the team of the year; the signing of Matic, from Benfica in January 2014, was another transfer that fell under the Premier League’s investigation. Manchester City never felt like true challengers this season. Manchester City, however, continue to await the verdict of the hearing into their own financial charges. The Premier League have City’s alleged rule-breaking took place between 2009 and 2018. City have always strenuously denied the charges. Arsenal finished third that season.

Premier League - 2016-17

If there was a season for Tottenham to win the Premier League under Mauricio Pochettino, this would have been it. Tottenham went unbeaten at home in their last season at White Hart Lane, while scoring more goals than Chelsea and conceding fewer than the eventual champions. They finished the season with a club-record 86 points. “For sure, we [Tottenham] deserve to be champions for that year because we were second best,” Pochettino. “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 impact at Chelsea, with the Italian leading the Stamford Bridge to the title in his first season in English football, a year after the Blues had finished 10th, the Argentina said he had “no doubt” that Eden Hazard once again made the difference that season. The Belgian winger scored 16 Premier League goals that season while centre-back David Luiz, another Chelsea player whose transfer to the club fell under the Premier League’s investigation, having joined the Blues from Benfica in 2011 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, had his finest season in English football as part of Conte’s back-three.

FA Cup - 2017-18

Runners-up: Manchester United

A second FA Cup final falls under the period that was investigated by the FA and Premier League. Eden Hazard scored a first-half penalty as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea defeated Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. Hazard would also scored in Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Arsenal in the Europa League final the following the year. Under Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership, between 2003 and 2022, Chelsea won 21 major trophies, including two Champions Leagues, five Premier Leagues, five FA Cups, two League Cups and two Europa Leagues.