Mauricio Pochettino has revealed he wants Real Madrid to beat Liverpool in tonight's Champions League final in Paris.
The PSG manager was knocked out of Europe's elite competition by Madrid this season, surrendering a two-goal lead to suffer an early exit. Kylian Mbappe's goal at the Bernabeu in the second leg had put the Ligue 1 side in pole position to progress to the quarter-finals, only for Karim Benzema to score a hat-trick and turn the tie on its head.
Despite being on the receiving end of this heartbreaking defeat, Pochettino is hoping to see Los Blancos come out on top against the Reds in the French capital. The reason behind his backing of the Spanish side relates to his playing days at Espanyol, which saw him working under Madrid legend and nine-time La Liga winner Jose Antonio Camacho.
Explaining how this connection has influenced his feelings ahead of tonight's showpiece fixture, the Argentine told Marca : “It is clear that my heart is much whiter than red.
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"My soft spot for Madrid comes from 1994, when I arrived in Barcelona. I was lucky that my coach was Jose Antonio Camacho, who transmitted that love for Real Madrid to me. I have never been able, as a player and coach, to be at Madrid, but my emotional preference is clear."
Another reason the 50-year-old may be leaning towards Madrid for this fixture is due to the 2019 Champions League final, which saw Liverpool deny Pochettino and Tottenham Hotspur the biggest prize in club football.
