Real Madrid have issued an official statement slamming Mauricio Pochettino over claims his requests to use the club’s training ground were rejected.
Spurs will be staying in the Spanish capital ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool at Wanda Metropolitano on June 1.
Speaking ahead of the showpiece event, Pochettino revealed a conversation he had with Madrid president Florentino Perez regarding Tottenham’s pre-match preparations.
The Argentine has been heavily linked with the top job at Santiago Bernabeu in recent months and he suggested Perez tried to offer him a compromise to suit both Madrid and Spurs.
“Real Madrid? I have no other goals if I am not training Tottenham; football takes you where you deserve,” Pochettino told El Partidazo de Cope.
“Ahead of the final, we will train at Valdebebas and sleep in a nearby hotel.
“I asked Florentino to let us sleep in the sports centre, but he told me that I can only sleep there when I become the coach of Real Madrid.”
Madrid have moved quickly to respond to the 47-year-old’s comments, posting a statement on their website dismissing his claims and insisting that the club follows UEFA regulations to the letter.
The statement reads: “Real Madrid CF is surprised by the demonstrations made by the coach of Tottenham Hotspur, Mauricio Pochettino, about a supposed request made to our club so that his team could stay in the residence of the Real Madrid City on the occasion of the final of the Champions League.
“Real Madrid CF wants to make it clear that it is outright false that this request was produced. Our club has always shown its absolute availability to meet all the requests made by UEFA, the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Club Atlético de Madrid, Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur.
“All requests submitted to Real Madrid have referred only and exclusively to the use of the training camps of the Ciudad Real Madrid and its changing rooms. And all of them have been granted by our club.
“Thus, Liverpool plan to train in our facilities on Saturday, June 1 in the morning. Tottenham, for its part, will do so on Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31.
“Real Madrid CF also wants to emphasise that the accommodation of the finalist teams of the Champions League are assigned by UEFA following criteria of organisation and security. And that at no time has our club been requested that these teams could be accommodated in the facilities of Ciudad Real Madrid.”
Pochettino was named as one of the frontrunners to succeed Santiago Solari at the Bernabeu when he was sacked in March.
However, the job eventually went to Zinedine Zidane, who returned to the club ten months after masterminding a third successive Champions League triumph.
Pochettino is aiming for his first trophy in charge at Spurs next month, having overseen tremendous progress at the club since his appointment in 2014.
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