Mauricio Pochettino says it's "a dream" of his to coach Real Madrid one day.

During his time at Spurs, Pochettino was linked on several occasions to Madrid.

"I don't know if I will ever be coach of Real Madrid because football takes you where it wants to but for sure, it's my dream," Pochettino told Cadena Cope radio.

"If it's not the best, it's among the best clubs in the world.

"It has a great history and I think I'm no different from other football professionals.

"Any coach would have on their dream list to guide Real Madrid."

Pochettino was a candidate to replace Ernesto Valverde at Barcelona and then again when they fired Quique Setien. 

Pochettino, who played and managed Barca's city rivals Espanyol earlier in his career, said he did not receive an offer from Barca this summer.

"I did not see [Barcelona president Josep Maria] Bartomeu but I did have lunch with [Barcelona technical secretary] Ramon Planes," Pochettino said. "We have a great friendship but I was not offered the position to coach Barcelona.

"I didn't get one [offer] from PSG, nor Juventus, nor Inter Milan. I did get calls from Benfica and from Monaco. I have no need to lie.

"I'm not anxious about not coaching...perhaps if the virus didn't exist I would have more anxiety to be a part of football but after all that has happened, I'm more relaxed and that has allowed me to get personal and family growth and especially, from a professional level, to develop in other fields."