Hugo Lloris shares brutal Daniel Levy story as he asks serious questions about Tottenham

Hugo Lloris has criticised Daniel Levy's decision to present players with luxury watches for reaching the final, claiming it demonstrated a lack of winning mentality.

Spurs made their first-ever European Cup final in 2019, defeating and Ajax in dramatic fashion to reach the final against .

Before the final, Levy gifted each player an Aviator watch engraved with the word "finalist". Despite their Champions League success, Tottenham's poor league performance was evident as they were soundly defeated by Liverpool in Madrid.

scored an early penalty, followed by a late goal from Divock Origi. Lloris felt that the club, particularly the chairman, had settled for second best.

In his new book serialised in , Lloris wrote: "Who does such a thing at a moment like this? I still haven't got over it, and I'm not alone. If we'd won, he wouldn't have asked for the watches back to have 'Winner' engraved instead."

The French goalkeeper admits he's never worn the watch and believes Levy's decision to reward them simply for reaching the final may have contributed to their early deficit in the match.

Tottenham, who have not reached such heights since, were left to reflect on their defeat. However, Lloris noted that many associated with the club "were not sufficiently despondent at having lost" despite missing out on Europe's top honour.

The former No 1 added: "When I returned to my room on the night of the final, I think I had the same feeling as and : does the club really want to win? Real Madrid would never have celebrated a lost final, and we shouldn't have either."

Pochettino was dismissed just months after the Champions League final, and since his departure, no Tottenham boss has lasted more than two seasons. They've also rarely threatened to win any silverware, their best effort coming when they were defeated in the Carabao Cup final in 2021.