Former Blues Boss: Why Chelsea Should Be Stripped Of 2016/17 Premier League Title | OneFootball

Chelsea were still able to spend in the summer transfer window after agreeing a punishment with the Premier League.

The 2026/27 Premier League campaign represents the 10th anniversary of the last time Chelsea were crowned champions of England.

As the 10th anniversary of that title-winning campaign approaches, a former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur head coach has spoken strongly about the Blues’ title and questioned the integrity surrounding the victory.

In March, the west London side were slapped with a £10.75 million fine and a suspended transfer ban by the Premier League due to Chelsea making ‘undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club’.

A couple of months later, in July, the FA closed proceedings after finding the Blues guilty of 74 breaches, following the new ownership's self-report of irregularities when it purchased the club in May 2022. Chelsea also avoided a points deduction, which surprised rival clubs, especially given that Everton and Nottingham Forest have been slapped with points deductions after breaking the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

The findings covered 2011 to 2018, including the 2016-17 season when the Blues picked up the league title. The most notable names in the investigation included Belgian superstar Eden Hazard, after his transfer in 2013, and Brazilian international Willian, who joined from Anzhi Makhachkala that same summer.

Mauricio Pochettino, who managed Tottenham between 2014 and 2019, has recently come out and challenged Chelsea’s overall credentials behind that 2017 title victory.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, the Argentinian coach was asked if Chelsea should have suffered a sporting sanction in addition to a fine.

He replied: For sure, we (Tottenham) deserve to be champions for that year because we were second best. We should have been awarded it. We should win one title, one Premier League."

In addition to saying Tottenham ‘deserved’ to be champions, Pochettino believes that if rules are broken, then a punishment should follow. He added: “If you broke the rules, in the moment, then ‘ciao’ – you need to give it (the title) to another team.”

Pochettino’s comments perhaps come as a surprise, given that the former Spurs boss also managed Chelsea during the 2023-24 season, in which the club finished sixth while also narrowly missing out in the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool.

After just one season in charge, both the club and Pochettino mutually agreed to part ways, just weeks after he received public backing from co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly. Chelsea opted to replace the 54-year-old with Italian coach Enzo Maresca, who had just won the EFL Championship with Leicester City.

As for Pochettino, he opted for international management as he took the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) to the round-of-16 stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil. They were dumped out by Belgium with an emphatic 4-1 defeat.