Roberto Martinez wanted to be manager at Tottenham Hotspur?

Belgium's head coach Roberto Martinez attends the UEFA Euro 2020 qualification football match between Belgium and Cyprus at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels on November 19, 2019. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)


Fresh reports from the European football circuit suggest that Roberto Martinez, the current Belgium boss, was apparently interested in the management position that was available at Tottenham Hotspur before they named Jose Mourinho as their new manager after sacking Mauricio Pochettino.

A report by Daily Star claims that Martinez was, in fact, ready to leave Belgium for Tottenham but his plan failed as Mourinho became the new Spurs boss. Interestingly, the former Everton star was also one of the names that were considered for the managerial role at the North London club briefly but no formal meeting happened.

Martinez has been in charge of the Belgium team since August 2016 and has enjoyed a great stint with them so far. Belgium finished third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and one of the favourites to clinch the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup in the forthcoming summer.

The report by Daily Star claims that as the pressure on Pochettino grew during his last few weeks as a manager, the club was made aware that Martinez was interested in the job, in case they were looking for options.

However, the two parties could not hold formal talks and the deal failed to happen.