Mauricio Pochettino claims “Espanyol is a much more independent club and much more Catalan than Barcelona” after re-igniting his dislike of the Liga champions.
Pochettino had two spells as a player at Espanyol and then started his managerial career with the club before stints with Southampton, Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea. He is currently tasked with leading co-hosts the United States at next summer’s World Cup finals.
The 53-year-old has made no secret of his dislike for Barca over the years and was happy to take another shot when speaking on the El Cafelito programme on El Chiringuito TV.
“I think that Espanyol is a much more independent club and much more Catalan than Barcelona,” said Pochettino, who also criticised the Barca slogan of ‘More than a Club’.
“I always try to explain it, and no one should be offended,” he added. “They say that Barça is more than a club – what does that mean? That children should be indoctrinated in certain ideas?
“I think Barcelona is wrong about that. Every football team has its culture, and Barça is a great club, but I do not share what they want to make me buy or want to sell to people.”
‘I’d rather be a farmer than coach Barcelona’
Pochettino once claimed he would rather be a farmer in his native Argentina than coach Barcelona and his stance has not changed.
“The phrase I’m going to my farm in Argentina to work before coaching Barcelona? It’s still good, isn’t it? My identification with Espanyol is total,” he said.
“People always say to me, ‘We’ll see, if one day Barça offers you the job, we’ll see what you say.’ I can tell you that I would not coach Barcelona.”
The United States’ preparation for next summer’s tournament continues over the next week with friendly games against South Korea in New Jersey and Japan in Columbus.
