I quit Tottenham in £31m transfer – I know why Spurs haven't won a trophy in 17 years

I quit Tottenham in £31m transfer – I know why Spurs haven't won a trophy in 17 years Newspoint | 14/03/2025 07:39:13

Dimitar Berbatov believes 's squad have developed a non-winning mentality, given the club's trophy drought spanning 17 years.

The former striker – who spent two years in north London – was part of the club's last trophy triumph back in 2008 when he scored in Spurs' 2-1 extra-time victory against to win the at Wembley.

While the Lilywhites have gone on to reach other finals since then, namely the Champions League final in 2019 against Liverpool, they've failed to add to their trophy cabinet, which has resulted in star players such as Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Kyle Walker and – more recently – Harry Kane eventually seeking pastures new.

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The Bulgarian legend – who was recently named European Brand Ambassador for LiveScore – left White Hart Lane in the summer of 2008 to joinfor £31million and went on to win two titles under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Since Ange Postecoglou took charge at Spurs, the club have rebuilt their squad. But during an exclusive interview with football.london, the 44-year-old said the mentality of the Spurs side is one not currently equipped to win silverware.

"Some of the players are too long into the team now," Berbatov admitted. "When you spend too long into the team, you get comfortable, I mean, you didn't win anything, this is going to be your mentality of not winning anything."

He suggested clubs should shake up their squads every four years if they're not successful and with Spurs set to enter Postecoglou's third season in charge in August, that time may be coming for the Aussie.

"This is going to be your zone," Berbatov added.

"So that's why I think every team should be shuffle around every four years, especially if the team is not winning anything with the players that the team has. And then you try to get new players with which you can to try to win a trophy."

With Spurs currently 13th in the table and out of both domestic cup competitions, the Europa League represents their last opportunity to win a trophy and somewhat salvage what has been a disappointing season. However, they have their work cut out for them on Thursday as they host AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie on Thursday.

They trail 1-0 to the Eredivisie side from their first leg defeat in the Netherlands earlier this month.

Berbatov admitted that his collaboration with LiveScore, an app that provides real-time updates on global football matches, was something he saw coming.

"Even before I worked with LiveScore, if you want to check the scores of a game, my friends, my environment [in Sofia], everybody was going to LiveScore," he shared. "So it was also a sign that I'm going to work with them in the future."

Download the LiveScore app for real-time updates. You can visit LiveScore's official website for more information.