4 reasons why Mauricio Pochettino should not go to Real Madrid

With the news now official that Real Madrid have fired boss Julen Lopetegui after just four months in charge, it’s probably only a matter of time before a familiar name becomes linked with the hot seat at the Bernabeu – current Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentine has been linked with the Madrid job before – most notably this summer after the resignation of Zinedine Zidane, prior to Lopetegui taking the reins – and while his Espanyol ties have always held him back from looking at Barcelona as a destination, he’s never said the same for Real.

But should he go if he’s offered the job? In my opinion, it’s a definite no. And here are 4 reasons why.

#1 He hasn’t finished the project at Tottenham

Pochettino has helped the likes of Harry Kane to break through, but he has unfinished business at Spurs

While the Madrid job might be alluring, it’d be pretty jarring for Tottenham fans to see Pochettino leave now, largely because there’s a major feeling that his business in North London is nowhere near finished yet.

Pochettino is currently in the midst of his 5th season as Tottenham manager, and while that might feel like a lifetime in the Wild West of the Premier League, in reality, it isn’t long at all when you compare him to dynastic legends like Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson.

Spurs have made dramatic progress under Pochettino – they’ve gone from an upper mid-table side to a team of perennial title challengers who have qualified for the Champions League in the last 3 seasons – but they have yet to win a major trophy.

With tremendous players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen on board, it feels like Tottenham are closer than ever to reaching that goal. Whether it’s a lesser trophy like the FA Cup or Europa League at this point probably wouldn’t matter, either.

The bottom line is that by leaving now, Pochettino would be abandoning the project that he started back in 2014 without properly finishing it. That simply doesn’t seem like his style, nor would it make much sense for a manager who’s always suggested he’d be at Tottenham for the long haul. If nothing else, it’s a reason why he shouldn’t head to Madrid, at least not right now.

#2 He doesn’t really suit Madrid’s flashy style

Real have always prided themselves on being able to buy the world's most high-profile stars

On the pitch at least, Pochettino would definitely bring the type of football to Madrid that Real fans would instantly adore. Over the course of 4 seasons, he’s transformed Tottenham into one of the most entertaining sides in the Premier League – equally steely as they are silky – and many neutrals favour Tottenham over their rivals for this reason.

But off the pitch, does the Argentine really suit Madrid’s style? I’m not sure that he does. Ever since the 1990s, Los Blancos have built a reputation as a club who love to sign the world’s highest-profile players – sometimes even when they don’t need them. And this so-called ‘Galactico’ policy is never stronger than when current president Florentino Perez is in charge.

Pochettino though doesn’t quite fit that model. Sure, you could point at the fact that Tottenham have always been one of England’s more frugal clubs when it comes to splashing the cash, but the fact is that Pochettino has never been one to simply wave around a chequebook and demand major signings to bolster his squad.

While money has been spent to bring in the likes of Lucas Moura and Davinson Sanchez, Pochettino has preferred to find bargain signings like Eric Dier and Dele Alli, or promote players from the youth team like Harry Winks and Harry Kane. Madrid meanwhile rarely promote from their own academy, and the word “bargain” probably isn’t in their vocabulary.

That means that Pochettino’s style simply doesn’t mesh well with Madrid’s big-spending policies, and if the Argentine were to move to the Bernabeu, that clash could cause un-needed friction. It’s another reason why it’d be a bad fit for both parties.

#3 He might demand too much of Madrid’s stars

Would Pochettino be able to impose his style on big personalities like Sergio Ramos?

One notable aspect of Pochettino’s management style is that he demands a lot from his players. In Pochettino’s world, it’s all or nothing – you either buy into his system and his way of doing things, or you can easily find yourself out in the cold.

Just ask the likes of Nacer Chadli and Vlad Chiriches, who were quickly sent packing from White Hart Lane, or Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose, who were frozen out for months last season after crossing the boss.

This method – almost Alex Ferguson-esque – has clearly worked wonders with many of Tottenham’s stars, Harry Kane included, but could it really work at Madrid? I’m not so sure. Pochettino took over a Tottenham side who were almost slipping into mid-table mediocrity under Tim Sherwood, and that meant that he took charge of a set of players ready to be moulded into his ideal vision.

Madrid, however, are the reigning European champions and while they’re in a small crisis at the minute, it’d be hard to label them anything but pure-bred winners. They’re also a squad full of huge personalities like Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Karim Benzema.

Could Pochettino really mould players like that into his way of thinking? Or would the likes of Ramos simply hold too much power within the Bernabeu to be frozen out if they refused to tow the line as Alderweireld and Rose were at Tottenham?

As a fan, it’d be interesting to see Pochettino try, but from the Argentine’s point of view, would it really be worth the hassle? If he were to take over Madrid, he’d have to start from scratch and would perhaps have to overhaul the squad. And why would he want to do that?

#4 It’s the most stressful job in football

Despite winning multiple Champions League titles, Zinedine Zidane found the stress at Real hard to take

The England manager’s job has often been labelled ‘The Impossible Job’ due to the issues surrounding the attempts to recapture the magic of 1966, but in reality, managing the Three Lions almost sounds like a walk in the park in comparison to being in the hotseat at the Bernabeu.

Sure, other clubs hire and fire managers in quicker fashion than Real, but the immense pressure that comes from being in charge there is unlike anything else in football. Madrid’s fans and power-brokers don’t expect success from their bosses – they demand it.

At times, the demands of the Bernabeu almost seem insane. Vicente del Bosque and Fabio Capello both found this out – they were both terminated directly after leading Real to La Liga titles, with del Bosque being accused of showing signs of exhaustion, and Capello’s style apparently too pragmatic despite winning games.

The job clearly took its toll on Jose Mourinho, who left after 3 seasons in charge – the last of which he called the worst in his career – and the Portuguese hasn’t really looked like the same man since, as if being in charge at the Bernabeu simply sapped a lot of his enthusiasm for the game.

And that isn’t even mentioning Zinedine Zidane, who felt the need to walk away from the Madrid hotseat despite leading the side to an inexplicable 3 Champions League victories in a row. According to some, Zidane would’ve been under pressure this season after failing to win La Liga alongside Europe’s biggest competition in 2017/18.

With all of this in mind then, why would Mauricio Pochettino – a man who has largely worked under very little pressure due to the general lack of expectation at Tottenham – ever want to take such a stressful job?

If he were to move now, maybe he’d have a honeymoon period due to the disaster that has been Lopetegui’s reign, but next season the pressure would be simply immense. It’s hard to see why any manager would want such stress on their shoulders – especially a boss as relatively young as Pochettino.