Manchester United and City can sign whoever they want, says Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino

No contest: Pochettino says Spurs can't compete with the elite clubs in the transfer window
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Jonathan Hunn13 October 2017

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated that the club cannot compete with their Premier League rivals in the transfer market.

Spurs trail leaders Manchester City and second-placed Manchester United by five points ahead of Saturday’s match against Bournemouth after both clubs spent lavishly during the summer.

City’s spending topped £200million, including the £50m signing of Spurs’s Kyle Walker, while United’s outlay was nearly £150m.

Tottenham, by contrast, finished the summer with a net spend of roughly zero after buying five players but selling the same number. Pochettino is fond of reminding supporters of the financial disparity between Spurs and their rivals.

“The difference these days between clubs in the Premier League is that there are clubs, like City and United, who sign who they want and when they want,” said the Argentine. “Then there are big teams, like us, who sign when we can and who we can. It’s the big difference today.”

Despite being unable to compete with their rivals financially, Spurs have more than matched them on the pitch over the past two seasons. But they will get a good idea of how far they have come when they visit Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

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Pochettino believes the European champions are the best team in the world and admitted he has a soft spot for manager Zinedine Zidane.

“Madrid have been the best in the last few years,” Pochettino told beIN Sports. “They’ve proved that and, honestly, I have a certain weakness for Zidane, as a footballer and now. Of course, we’ll try to use our weapons to play a good game and to win.”