(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) / (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has called out club chairman Daniel Levy for his gesture ahead of the 2019 Champions League final.
Spurs enjoyed an incredible European run under Mauricio Pochettino that saw them progress through a tough group stage, beating Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven to secure their place in the knockout rounds alongside Barcelona.
The last 16 saw them overcome Borussia Dortmund with a dominant 4-0 aggregate win, setting up a quarter-final clash with Manchester City.
In a thrilling second leg, Tottenham took the lead on away goals, despite a dramatic 4-3 defeat that included VAR drama and last-minute heroics.
Their semi-final against Ajax showed more resilience as Spurs overturned a 3-0 aggregate deficit, with a hat-trick from Lucas Moura, including a stoppage-time winner, sending them to the their first Champions League final.
However, despite their remarkable journey, they failed to win the final, losing to Premier League rivals Liverpool, who beat them 2-0 in Madrid.
Hugo Lloris reveals Daniel Levy’s gesture before the final
The French goalkeeper has now criticized Daniel Levy for his callous gesture ahead of the Champions League final.
It reveals that the Spurs chairman called the entire squad a few days before the grand final and presented them with personalized luxury watches. However, the watches had “Finalists” engraved on the back, which left players stunned.
Lloris said he was overwhelmed by Levy’s decision the guardian:
“We all have an etched 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’s watch from the club.”
“At first, we were excited to see the elegant boxes. Then we opened them up and discovered that he had engraved the back of each watch with the player’s name and ‘Champions League Finalist 2019’. ‘Finalist’ Who does such a thing at a time like this? I’m still not over it and I’m not alone.
“If we had won, I wouldn’t have asked for the watches to be engraved ‘Winner’ again. I have great respect and love for the man and everything he has done for the club as chairman, I met him, but there are things that it’s just not responsive. As great as the watch is, I’ve never used it.”
The era of Hugo Lloris at Tottenham
During his 11 years in London, he made 444 appearances and kept 151 clean sheets. Despite a dip in form in recent seasons, Hugo Lloris is regarded as a club legend by the Tottenham faithful.
He lost his place to Guglielmo Vicario, who replaced him last summer. Ange Postecoglou did not like it and publicly confirmed that the French has no future at the club Finally, left the club to join Los Angeles FC.
