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Throughout his coaching journey, Mauricio Pochettino has had the privilege of managing some of the most exceptional attacking players of his generation.

During his tenure at Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine tactician worked with superstars such as Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and his countryman Lionel Messi. However, when it comes to goals scored under Pochettino’s management, none of these icons matched the prolific output of Harry Kane.

While leading Tottenham Hotspur in north London, Pochettino saw the England captain net an impressive 169 goals. That period left the Argentine convinced that Kane deserves to be ranked among the elite footballers of the modern era.

The debate about the greatest players of the last two decades often begins with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but Pochettino believes Kane’s name deserves to be part of that discussion.

“That’s saying a lot,” Pochettino told FourFourTwo, acknowledging the extraordinary benchmarks set by Messi and Ronaldo, who together have claimed 13 Ballon d’Or awards since 2008.

Still, Pochettino was quick to clarify that Kane’s career trajectory has not benefited from the same trophy-laden environment as those who play for football’s most dominant clubs.

“He didn’t have the fortune of being at a club where he won a lot of trophies,” Pochettino explained. “If that had been the case, people would be talking about him much more.”

Kane’s loyalty to Tottenham saw him remain with the club for 13 years, collecting only runners-up medals in the UEFA Champions League and two League Cup finals.

In the summer of 2023, Kane made a €100 million transfer to Bayern Munich, where he finally lifted his first league title at 31 years of age. He has since added another, but Pochettino maintains that Kane belongs to a group of footballers whose exceptional ability has not been fully reflected in their list of honours.

“His CV doesn’t fully reflect his quality,” Pochettino remarked. “There are players with many titles whose individual talent doesn’t match their achievements.”

Pochettino, speaking from personal experience after guiding Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final—where they were defeated by Liverpool—added that the same principle applies to managers.

“There are truly great coaches who haven’t won as much as they deserved,” he said. “Judging him purely on trophies is a bit unfair.”