Tottenham Hotspur host Erik Ten Hag’s Eredivisie leaders Ajax in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday night.
Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag has hit back at Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Mauricio Pochettino in a feisty press conference ahead of tonight’s Champions League semi-final first leg, as reported by Reuters.
Spurs host the side who stunned both Real Madrid and Juventus at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night, aiming to put one foot into the final of Europe’s premiere club competition.
And Pochettino, who has frequently lambasted the Premier League for their fixture schedule in recent months, has once again spoken out on what he feels is an ‘unfair’ disadvantage with the Dutch FA deciding to postpone the penultimate round of Eredivisie fixtures to give Ajax the best possible chance of completing another famous victory.
But Ten Hag has responded by airing his own grievances.
“We get 10 million (euros) for playing in (Dutch first division) Eredivisie and they get many more millions for being in the Premier League. Is that not unfair on us?” said the former Bayern Munich reserve coach.
“There are always differing circumstances. Everybody has different circumstances. You just have to deal with them. That’s what we do.”
Ten Hag has a point. Ajax have reached the last four for the first time in the 21st century with a squad made up largely of academy graduates and bargain buys, from Frenkie De Jong to Matthijs de Ligt, Andre Onana to Donny Van de Beek.
While Tottenham may not have the funds of Manchester City or even Liverpool, their squad is still far more expensively assembled than their Amsterdam-based opponents.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
