Danny Rose claims Tottenham would’ve won the Champions League if they didn’t sell ‘amazing’ player in 2019 

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Danny Rose believes Tottenham Hotspur would have won the Champions League final in 2019 if they hadn’t sold Mousa Dembele.

Spurs enjoyed an incredible road to Madrid over four years ago and provided some of the greatest moments in European football.

Lucas Moura’s hat-trick in the semi-final at Ajax will forever be etched into Tottenham’s history after they looked down and out at 2-0 down in the tie. 

Tottenham also sent Manchester City crashing out in the quarter-final after a thrilling second leg at the Etihad Stadium.

But Spurs fell short in the final under Mauricio Pochettino as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Premier League rivals Liverpool.

Many have questioned whether Pochettino’s decision to start Harry Kane over Moura was the correct one given the Englishman’s lengthy spell on the sidelines beforehand.

Yet, Danny Rose believes his old side would have won the final if they simply kept hold of Mousa Dembele that season.

Rose makes Champions League final claim

Speaking on the Official Tottenham Podcast, Rose was asked about the best player he’s played alongside at Spurs. 

Unsurprisingly, he named Dembele as well as Luka Modric and then made a huge claim about the Champions League final a few years back.

“I would say Luka and then I would say Dembele would be a very close second,” Rose said. “He was absolutely amazing. For me, if he hadn’t left in January we would’ve won the final in the Champions League.

“Obviously in January it’s not in anyone’s thoughts we’d get to the final, but that’s how influential he was for us, if he played in the final we would’ve won that game.” 

Dembele left Spurs back in January 2019 as he made the switch to Chinese outfit Guangzhou City.

The Belgian was struggling with persistent injuries during the first-half of the 2018-19 campaign but it was still a surprise to see him head out the door.

Just the season before, Dembele had starred for Tottenham in the middle of the park.

Nevertheless, no one will ever know whether or not Dembele would have made the difference in that final.

It’s undeniable that he was one of the Premier League’s best midfielders on his day and he did feature regularly for Guangzhou after leaving Spurs. 

Yet, Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko both played exceptionally well that year and played a key role in helping Spurs to the final.