'I met Maradona and Ronaldinho and one Tottenham icon sits in the same category'

When football icons like Ronaldinho and Diego Maradona are discussed, few would expect the name Mousa Dembele to crop up in the conversation. The Belgian midfielder is best known in English football for his seven-year spell at , during which he played a pivotal role in the club's resurgence.

He left for Guangzhou City in China after Spurs lost their final to in Madrid. Overall, Dembele made 250 appearances for the club, scoring 10 times. He'd previously spent two seasons at Fulham, moving across London in a £15million deal.

Ex-Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas signed Dembele. However, after the Russian departed and Tim Sherwood's spell proved short-lived, he flourished in a defensive midfield role under .

Indeed, the Argentine made no secret of his huge admiration for the player. When discussing Dembele's ability, he surprisingly ranked him alongside the game's all-time greats.

"For me he is a genius, an incredible player," he told the Independent. "I always tell him: 'Mousa, when I write my book, you will be one of the geniuses I have been lucky enough to meet'. One was Maradona and another Ronaldinho. There will also be (Jay-Jay) Okocha and Ivan de la Pena."

Later in his career, Dembele was asked to respond to Pochettino's praise. He made light of the comparison to the two World Cup winners, though, saying: "I'm not a Maradona and I don't intend to become one."

To Dembele's credit, a measure of his ability is that he was capped 82 times by Belgium between 2006 and 2018. He featured in their famous 'golden generation' of players alongside the likes of , Eden Hazard, and Vincent Kompany.

He eventually retired in 2022 after a three-year stint in the Far East. The Beerschot AC product has since resisted the urge to stay in the game, citing his desire to spend more time with his family.