Mr Bean? Mauricio Pochettino in hilarious mix-up as Chelsea boss confuses ex-Man Utd manager with actor Rowan Atkinson ahead of his return to Tottenham

The Chelsea manager has spent plenty of time in England, with previous coaching stints in the Premier League seeing him enjoy productive spells in charge of Southampton and Tottenham. He returned to London in the summer of 2023 when taking the reins at big-spending Chelsea.

Pochettino has learned plenty about English culture along the way, but he is unable to tell the difference between the actor that plays the hapless Mr Bean and the man that once filled the hot-seat at Old Trafford and famously took to the wrong dugout in 1999 during a forgettable stint as Nottingham Forest manager.

Pochettino told reporters when asked if he could head for the wrong seat when returning to Spurs for the first time since severing ties with them back in 2019 – just as Ron Atkinson did when facing Arsenal with Forest at the City Ground: “Ah, yes. Mr Bean. Ron Atkinson is the actor. The actor of Mr Bean.” He added when being made aware of his mix up: “Ah OK. A different word. I was thinking of the actor. I know very well where the away dugout is. I know very well, because I decided where it was! The home dugout and the away. I was there. I was with the architect. I said to him, 'on the right is home and away on the left'. I know very well.”

Pochettino guided Tottenham to the Champions League final a matter of months before his sacking in north London and admits that does not have the same “love” for Chelsea as he does for a side that he spent 293 games in charge of. The Argentine said: “After five months? Come on. I cannot lie. I hope we can arrive at the same level that I was at Tottenham. But at the moment it's a tough situation.” Pressed on whether he could manage Spurs again at some point in the future, the South American added: “Who knows? For sure, if I'm not working and they want me, why not?”