Tottenham's chances of being awarded Premier League title won by Chelsea 'revealed'

Mauricio Pochettino privately knows his explosive claim that Chelsea should be stripped of their 2016-17 Premier League title has no credence.

That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the former Tottenham boss is trying to point-score with "moral bookkeeping."

This comes after the Argentine suggested that Spurs should have been retrospectively awarded the 2016-17 title, as part of Chelsea's punishment for their historical use of unlicensed agents.

Wyness believes that Chelsea were effectively "cheating" during certain periods of Roman Abramovich's reign at the club, but does not believe that Pochettino's suggestion will ever come to fruition.

Chelsea's current BlueCo ownership self-reported the breaches of the rules when they first took over back in 2022, and the club have been fined £10million by the FA and £10.75m by the Premier League in recent months.

They also avoided a points deduction as part of their sanction, despite Pochettino's suggestions that they should have faced the ultimate punishment.

Premier League stance clear on retrospective decisions

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the Premier League have already sent clear signals that they will not alter historical league standings retrospectively.

The Scottish businessman outlined that the organisation are determined for matters of this ilk to be settled out on the pitch, rather than in boardrooms at later dates.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained why Pochettino's claims will never come to anything.

"I would quite often like to see these sorts of things happening, but I'm afraid it isn't going to happen," he said.

"The Premier League have sent very clear signals that they want things decided on the pitch. There's a lot of to-ing and fro-ing about these sort of decisions, and I understand why it probably shouldn't be withdrawn, but I can also see arguments for it. 

"When I thought about it, what Pochettino is doing here is what I would call moral bookkeeping. And I think most of the Spurs fans would be on his side. 

"I think there's genuinely a feeling that Chelsea did gain an unfair advantage during that period of time, or cheating, as some people might want to call it.

"There has been a sanction there, but I'm afraid it (Pochettino's claim) isn't going to happen. The Premier League have made that pretty clear."

How did Chelsea's 'cheating' affect 2016-17 title race?

Wyness previously told Football Insider last year that Chelsea's misdemeanours would be hard to prove, although he is in no doubt that they gained a sporting advantage.

The West Londoners were found guilty of using unlicensed agents to hide the true details of their transfer business between 2009 and 2022.

Their deals to sign the likes of Eden Hazard, Willian and David Luiz were all part of the transfer business that overstepped the line, and all three players made significant contributions during the 2016-17 campaign.

Hazard and Willian combined to notch 24 league goals that season, while Luiz missed just five league games at the heart of the defence.

Chelsea ultimately finished seven points clear of second-placed Spurs, and Pochettino clearly feels that the contributions of those players were a major reason for that.