For all Tottenham’s faults, their reputation in football’s business sphere is almost peerless and Daniel Levy has ensured the club has steered well clear of any FFP issues while others have struggled.
Many supporters will rightly point out that their financial prudence may also be one of the reason for their lack of silverware for the last 14 years.
The counterargument to that is that ENIC and Daniel Levy are actually in the bottom half of owners in the Premier League in terms of wealth.
For that reason, Spurs have been reluctant to spend huge sums – at least compared to their ‘Big Six’ peer group – on player wages and transfer fees as the owners cannot bankroll major losses.
With the current regime actively looking for a minority investment in Tottenham, it is hoped that the capital could go towards making improvements to the squad.
Spurs value themselves at £3.75bn, and any investment at that rate would be a major boon.
However, ENIC would be under no obligation to funnel the cash back into the playing budget and could quite easily pocket it themselves or, as they have said is their aim, put it towards infrastructure projects.
But if they did, Tottenham have ample wriggle room under the Premier League‘s FFP (now called Profit and Sustainability Rules, or PSR) system.
Johan Lange reflects on PSR and Daniel Levy’s ‘strength’
On paper, Spurs are flirting with the upper limit of the Premier League’s PSR system, which limits clubs to losing £105m over a rolling three-year period.
However, infrastructure costs are among the expenses exempt from the calculation, meaning Spurs’ circa £70m-a-year depreciation charge on the stadium opened in 2019 steers them well clear of that threshold.
Analysis from the world renowned football finance analyst Swiss Ramble projected that the North London club had almost £140m worth of PSR headroom going into 2024-25.
Now, in a rare interview, Spurs’ director Johan Lange has outlined the club’s approach to PSR and recruitment in the current regulatory landscape more generally.
‘The club is also investing in the academy, and developing more Harry Kanes is essential in what Lange believes is an “increasingly complicated” market, thanks to financial fair play rules, Brexit and global restrictions on loans,’ the report reads.
Speaking directly about Levy’s role in transfers, which has been questioned by elements of the fanbase, Lange said: “Daniel has great experience and a fantastic network.
“Not to play to that strength would be silly. Ange and I have ongoing discussions all the time about the squad. It’s far from only about transfers… [but] of course, when we come close to the window, it’s about how we want to ideally end up after the window.
“When I speak with Daniel and Scott Munn [chief football officer], it’s more about strategy and developing the club overall. Daniel’s network can play a part of some transactions, case by case, but he will never go in and have an opinion about whether a certain player is a good fit or not.”
Tottenham’s role in Man City’s APT case
As one of the clubs whose PSR status has never been in question, it is natural that Spurs would back retaining or even strengthening the Premier League and UEFA’s spending rules.
On that note, Spurs were one of the teams that gave evidence against Man City in the recent arbitration case over the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules.
City have claimed victory in that case – although these matters are rarely as straightforward as a win or a loss, and some analysts believe that its it the Premier League who have come out of the case best.
The APT rules, which aim to stop clubs from striking artificially inflated sponsorship deals with owner-related companies, were introduced after clubs including Spurs voted them through after the Newcastle United takeover in 2021.