Daniel Levy is one of the most divisive figures in football but one of the more controversial episodes in the Tottenham chairman’s may still be to come.
Levy, who also owns just less than a third of the North London club, is a respected operator in industry circles but has frustrated Spurs fans wit his conservative approach.
Since the move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, Spurs have become a global brand and tripled their revenues.
But they are still without silverware in nearly two decades.
Many supporters alleged that ENIC and Levy care more about the club’s commercial operation than results on the pitch.
And with Spurs currently looking to sell a minority stake and valuing themselves at £3.75bn, they will think that now is the most important time to prove out their business model.
To understand the latest about the club and the interplay between the sporting and commercial department, TBR Football spoke to Liverpool University football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire.
Spurs set to make new behind-the-scenes appointment shortly
In February, Spurs announced that commercial director Todd Kline would be leaving to join Chelsea in cursory statement that suggested that the departure was not on the best terms.
There has been update, official or otherwise, until recently for quite some time, with Chelsea yet to announce his appointment and Spurs yet to confirm Kline’s successor.
But The Telegraph recently reported that Kline is still seeing out his notice period.
Maguire suggests that someone will have filled Kline’s role, albeit unofficially, in the interim period.
“There is no doubt that somebody will have been hard at work at Spurs following Todd Kline’s departure to become Todd 2.0 at Chelsea.
“As they didn’t have the best of seasons in 2023-24, they will be focusing on off-field activities and revenue maximisation.
“The commercial department is absolutely critical for Spurs. We have seen commercial revenues triple since the move to the new stadium.
“With Daniel Levy in charge, he will be a hard taskmaster. He will have someone trying to serve up long-term global partners and region-specific partners for Spurs.
“They will try to use that additional money to improve things on the pitch.“
Tottenham want to catch Liverpool in the commercial stakes
Spurs’ commercial income totalled £228m in 2021-22, the last season for which full data is available.
They have benefitted hugely from the new stadium, which has wrought new sponsorship opportunities and the ability to host non-football matches on mass.
Now, it is being reported that Spurs want to catch Liverpool‘s commercial income total of £272m.
But can they really bridge the £44m gap any time soon?
“Liverpool have doubled their commercial income from 2017 from £1356m to £272m. That’s an incredible achievement,” said Maguire.
“The Jurgen Klopp factor is built into that, there’s winning the Champions League, winning the Premier League, the rivalry they have with Man City and the excitement that has brought to the top of the league.
“All of that has been monetised by the club. They are owed a huge amount of credit.
“In the same time, Spurs have triple their revenue from commercial sources. It’s now £228m.
“Can they catch up with Liverpool? It’s a case of running to stand still to a certain extent.
“Liverpool certainly have growth in front of them. Spurs have some advantages in terms of the London premium, which allows them to charge more for matchday and non-matchday activities, for instance.
“Harringay Council meanwhile have given them license to double the number of concerts and events they hold.
“You could potentially have more non-football events than football events taking place at the stadium. That can’t be replicated at Anfield given the issues with the pitch and so on.
“There is also the fact that Spurs’ stadium was built as a multi-function venue, whereas Anfield is first and foremost a football stadium that has some capacity to host other events.
“So Spurs are certainly in a very strong position. But what Liverpool have that Spurs don’t is a very global brand and appeal thanks to the success of Shankly, Paisley, Dalglish and so on.
“That has created a huge fanbase across the globe. And that in and of itself is very attractive to sponsors.“
Competitive Premier League matches overseas – would Spurs be onboard?
Recently, it emerged that Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are planning to take their La Liga game to the United States later this year in what would be an historic move for Spanish football.
The idea of taking competitive games abroad has long hungover English football too, and Levy himself has previously said he would be open to Premier League games outside the country.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters recently revealed that there was nothing to suggest that such a move was close, but Maguire does not believe that it should be ruled out because of the official party line.
“The clubs are aware that there would be opposition from fans over this.
“Although, that hasn’t stopped them treating their fans in a very shabby manner with regards to the prices that fans are now expect to pay.
“There is no doubt that Levy would be happy for matches to take place overseas if the price is right.
“That is the case for many club owners, but it has to be managed – expect this to be stage-managed over a period of time.
“If we look at the comments made by Richard Masters, it wasn’t an unequivocal rejection of matches taking place overseas. He said nothing had been discussed at Premier League CEO meetings.
“That doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been discussions on chief executives’ WhatsApp groups, or other similar modes of communication.
“They will be talking about how they can persuade the fans that they are doing it in their interests.
“They will say: ‘If La Liga are doing it, we don’t want to fall behind them.’
“In due course, they will say Premier League clubs will be forced to take matches overseas.
“If you get to the point where you are being paid £5m for a match in, say, New York and then you are offered £15m for the same match to take place in Riyadh or Seoul, clubs will say ‘let’s just follow the money’.
Club owners are completely out of touch with supporters. We saw that with the protests after the Super League, but they are conscious of not falling into a similar position where everything is done all very suddenly.