Juande Ramos: Tottenham used to be a selling club - keeping stars has seen Spurs reach the next level

Getty Images
Ben Hayward31 May 2019

Former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos says Christian Eriksen, Heung-min Son, Harry Kane and Dele Alli are good enough to play for any club in Europe, but believes Spurs’ ability to keep their stars has been behind their success in recent seasons.

Ramos had only a short spell at the north London club, winning the League Cup in 2008 but departing under a cloud following a poor start to the following season after both Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov were sold against his wishes.

“If you want to aspire to competing at the highest level, you cannot sell your stars,” he told Standard Sport at an event in Madrid.

“When we were there, the club sold Berbatov and Keane, the team was left without strikers and that was the problem.

"[Mauricio] Pochettino’s merit has been to keep the best players at the club.

Action Images via Reuters

“A lot has changed since I was there. I remember that after I was there, they sold [Luka] Modric, they sold [Gareth] Bale. They were a selling club.

"But for several years now, they have been able to hang on to their stars.

"The stadium they have now, the training ground. I think Tottenham are a team now that is able to compete with the best in Europe. And this final is the reward.”

Both Modric and Bale moved to Real Madrid and Ramos believes Eriksen has what it takes to follow in their footsteps.

““Without doubt. He is a magnificent player,” he said. “Eriksen, Son, Kane and Dele Alli could play in any team in Europe.

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

"Pochettino has done a very good job and he has been able to tell Levy or the board not to sell their stars.”

Ramos was the last Tottenham manager to win a trophy, with more than a decade having passed since Spurs beat Chelsea 2-1 after extra time in that Wembley final.

AFP/Getty Images

“It’s true that we were the last ones,” he said. “But I hope that changes tomorrow. The Tottenham fans deserve to win another trophy. The club has made a very big effort to get here.”

One man who has also made a big effort to get here is Kane, the striker having shaken off a serious ankle injury suffered in the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Manchester City in April.

The England captain is in contention for a starting spot at the Wanda Metropolitano, but Ramos said: “That is a decision Pochettino has to make.

"He has to know how the player is. There’s no doubt that Kane on form is irreplaceable, he’s the best.

“If Kane starts, that could have an important effect on the Liverpool defence.

"However, his form and fitness might not be the best after such a long time without playing.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in