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Former Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris says that gamers acquired a watch engraved with “Champions League finalist” from chairman Daniel Levy earlier than their loss to Liverpool.
The Frenchman admits the gesture left him questioning whether or not the membership actually prioritised profitable.
Throughout his 12-year tenure with Tottenham, a lot of it as captain, Lloris noticed the membership come near success however fall brief in key moments, together with two League Cup last defeats and a loss within the 2019 Champions League last.
In that sport, Liverpool’s early lead got here after a controversial penalty, with Lloris conceding from the spot resulting from a handball by teammate Moussa Sissoko.
Nevertheless, Lloris recollects being unsettled earlier than the ultimate even began.
Levy gathered the workforce simply days earlier than to current them with engraved watches, which the goalkeeper felt betrayed a complacency with second place somewhat than striving for victory.
In his forthcoming autobiography, ‘Incomes My Spurs’, Lloris shares his frustration with the gesture.
He mentioned: “4 days earlier than the ultimate, Daniel Levy referred to as us all collectively to announce that, with the help of a sponsor, we might every obtain a luxurious aviator watch from the membership.
“At first, we had been excited to see the elegant containers.
🚨 NEW:
Hugo Lloris revealed that Daniel Levy met with the gamers 4 days earlier than the Champions League Ultimate in 2019 that they’d be receiving a luxurious aviator watch from the membership.
The again of the watches had been engraved with ‘Champions League Finalist 2019.’
Embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/gnUJF7hyWg
— Spurs Join (@Spurs_Connect) November 7, 2024
“Then we opened them and found that he’d had the again of every timepiece engraved with the participant’s title and ‘Champions League Finalist 2019.’ ‘Finalist.’
“Who does such a factor at a second like this? I nonetheless haven’t bought over it, and I’m not alone.
“If we’d received, he wouldn’t have requested for the watches again to have ‘Winner’ engraved as a substitute.
“I’d have most well-liked there to be nothing on it. With an engraving like that, Levy couldn’t have been shocked if we had been 1–0 down after a few minutes: so it was written.”
Reflecting on the post-match reception, Lloris was disenchanted by what he perceived as a scarcity of seriousness amongst some membership officers and gamers following the defeat.
He added: “I’d have favored individuals to return as much as me and say, ‘Don’t fear, Hugo. By no means once more. We’ll provide the means for a comeback.’
“However once I returned to my room on the night time of the ultimate, I feel I had the identical feeling as Mauricio [Pochettino] and Harry [Kane]: does the membership actually need to win?
“Actual Madrid would by no means have celebrated a misplaced last, and we shouldn’t have both.”
Lloris made his last Spurs look in April 2023 and later joined Los Angeles FC. He’s additionally France’s most-capped male footballer.
