caughtoffside
·7 November 2024
caughtoffside
·7 November 2024
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has called out club chairman Daniel Levy for his gesture before the Champions League final in 2019.
Spurs went on an incredible European run under Mauricio Pochettino that saw them advanced through a tough group stage, edging past Inter Milan, and PSV Eindhoven to secure their place in the knockout rounds alongside Barcelona.
The round of 16 saw them sweep past Borussia Dortmund with a dominant 4-0 aggregate win, setting up a quarter-final clash with Manchester City.
In a thrilling second leg, Tottenham advanced on away goals, despite a dramatic 4-3 defeat that included VAR drama and last-minute heroics.
Their semifinal against Ajax showcased more resilience, as Spurs overturned a 3-0 aggregate deficit, with Lucas Moura’s hat-trick, including a stoppage-time winner, sending them to their first-ever Champions League final.
However, despite their remarkable journey, they failed to win the final, losing out to Premier League rivals Liverpool who beat them 2-0 in Madrid.
Tottenham legend Hugo Lloris opens up about Daniel Levy’s gesture before UCL final. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The French goalkeeper has now criticised Daniel Levy for his insensitive gesture before the Champions League final.
He reveals that the Spurs chairman called the entire squad a few days before the big final and gifted them customised luxury watches. However, the watches had ‘Finalists’ engraved on the back in what left the players surprised.
Slamming Levy’s decision, Lloris told The Guardian:
“We do all have one engraved memory, though. Four days before the final, Daniel Levy called us all together to announce that, with the support of a sponsor, we would each receive a luxury aviator watch from the club.”
“At first, we were excited to see the elegant boxes. Then we opened them and discovered that he’d had the back of each timepiece engraved with the player’s name and ‘Champions League Finalist 2019’. ‘Finalist.’ Who does such a thing at a moment like this? I still haven’t got over it, and I’m not alone.
“If we’d won, he wouldn’t have asked for the watches back to have ‘Winner’ engraved instead. I have considerable respect and esteem for the man and all he has done for the club as chairman – I got to know him – but there are things he is simply not sensitive to. As magnificent as the watch is, I have never worn it.”
During his 11 years in London, he has made 444 appearances and kept 151 clean sheets. Despite a dip in form over the past couple of seasons, Hugo Lloris is regarded as a club legend by the Tottenham faithful.
He saw himself lose his place to Guglielmo Vicario, who replaced him last summer. Ange Postecoglou did not fancy him and publicly confirmed that the Frenchman does not have a future at the club. Eventually, .