Tottenham: 'Restriction of investment' hampered Spurs - Lloris

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Former Spurs captain Hugo Lloris believes a "restriction in terms of investment" while building the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium contributed to a lack of trophies in his final few seasons in England.

The French World Cup winner spent 12 years with Spurs but, despite helping them reach the Champions League final in 2019, did not lift silverware at the club.

"I am not the kind of guy that looks backwards," the now LAFC goalkeeper told BBC Sport chief football news reporter Simon Stone.

"Everything I do I try to have no regrets. At that time we did our best. We brought the club to a level that it didn’t used to be at.

"We didn’t miss much but when we reach this standard in terms of performance and results, the club was probably also focused on the new stadium. It meant there was a restriction in terms of investment. At that time, the others, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City invested a bit more than us in the top players and in the end, it makes a difference.

"I still believe we were close but at the same time, we missed a bit. This question is good because the only thing when I look backwards, I just don’t know how things would have been if we had stayed one or two seasons more at White Hart Lane."

Spurs played at Wembley for the 2017-18 season and then until April 2019 the following season while the new stadium was completed, qualifying for the Champions League in both campaigns but failing to build on the second place finish in the final year at White Hart Lane.

"The last two seasons in that stadium we were amazing, playing amazing football," Lloris added.

"We cannot forget we played a year and a half without our own stadium. We had to deal with Wembley, which is an amazing stadium, but it was not our own.

"We did quite well because we qualified for the Champions League by being in the top four. But we faced better teams and better sides and stronger clubs than us."

Despite not being included in matchday squads after the appointment of Ange Postecoglou and leaving the December after his arrival, Lloris believes Spurs are heading towards competing for trophies under the Australian manager.

"In football life there are ups and downs and I believe right now, Tottenham are building something that is really interesting," he added. "I could see it for six months.

"I really enjoyed the idea of the football from the manager but also the direction of the club and I believe Tottenham will be competitive again.

"I think there is a new project and I am really interested to see where it is going to bring the club."

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