Wednesday 14 September 2016 09:09, UK
Monaco midfielder Joao Moutinho has revealed he was "minutes" away from signing for Tottenham in August 2012.
The Portugal international, who is preparing to face Spurs in the Champions League at Wembley on Wednesday evening, was in London on Deadline Day in 2012 after Spurs agreed a £24m deal with Porto.
But the paperwork for the deal was not submitted to the Premier League in time and the then 25-year-old returned to Portugal before signing for Monaco 12 months later.
"It's true I was a few minutes from signing for Spurs," he said. "Here I am at Monaco and the focus is on putting in a performance to help us through to the next stage of the Champions League."
Moutinho believes his side can benefit from playing in front of more than 80,000 Spurs fans at Wembley instead of White Hart Lane, having lost 4-1 in north London in the Europa League last season.
"Each team has developed since then,' he added. "It's a different competition, a bigger competition, with different players.
"Spurs might be slight favourites but this is a very equal group. Every team will fancy their chances to qualify and everyone wants to get through.
"Every player in our team will have played in similar situations, in front of big crowds. As players it's something we love.
"Most of the fans will be against us, we know that, and they will be for Spurs but this is only extra motivation. We love that pressure and we know if we play 100 per cent with can come away with a positive result. Why not a victory?"
