Tottenham Hotspur will be playing their first ever Champions League final tonight against Liverpool.

Despite picking up just a point in their opening three group games and losing two of their knockout games, Spurs have emerged as one of the surprise packages of the season in Europe, and going ahead to beat the Reds to the coveted prize would be astounding.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has made Tottenham punch above their weight since his arrival at North London, and he is a wanted man across the continent as a result of his tactical expertise.

Real Madrid have been routinely linked with the Argentine, and while president Florentino Perez has denied ever attempting to lure him to the Santiago Bernabeu, he can’t promise he won’t make a move in the future.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy isn’t keen on letting Pochettino go anytime soon, though, and has revealed that the club would love to have him for as long as possible, citing Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure at Manchester United.

He couldn’t help but aim a thinly-veiled dig at Madrid too.

“I would like him to become Tottenham’s Alex Ferguson,” Levy told UEFA (via Calciomercato).

“Winning here is much more important than at Real Madrid.

“Mauricio wants the right recognition of his job, being the number one. For me it’s fine, I want him to be the number one too.”

Pochettino couldn’t bring in any signing in the last two transfer windows as the club were investing heavily in their new stadium, but Spurs will have to support him in the transfer market this summer and going forward if they are to successfully convince him that he is in their long-term plans.