Various reports in recent years have valued Tottenham at between £3.5bn and £4bn.
Chelsea were bought in a deal worth up to £4.25bn from Roman Abramovich in 2022 by a consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital. The purchase price was £2.5bn with a commitment to spending £1.75bn over the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos bought a 25% stake in Manchester United for £1.03bn in December 2023 in a process which included a rival bid from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim, reported to be nearer to £5bn for 100% of the club.
Despite those huge sums, both clubs – unlike Tottenham – need major investment in their stadiums to unlock bigger commercial earning potential.
According to the first source, the period when Tottenham were building their new £1.2bn stadium, between 2017 and 2019, meant Levy was “all-consumed” and the board “left everyone to do their jobs”.
Spurs secured Champions League football under Mauricio Pochettino for four successive seasons to 2018-19 – and were beaten in the 2019 final by Liverpool.
That source suggested Levy’s approach – namely “open to conversations but set in his ways” – has meant a lot of people with off-field expertise have left Spurs over the years for more influential jobs.
Paul Barber was an executive director between 2005-2010 and is now Brighton chief executive; Michael Edwards was Spurs’ chief analyst from 2009-2011 before leaving for Liverpool; FA technical director John McDermott was Tottenham’s head of academy and player development until 2020; while EFL chief executive Trevor Birch was – very briefly – Tottenham’s director of football operations, from September 2020 to January 2021.
It could be argued that many of these highly-rated executives enjoyed good careers at Tottenham before simply moving on – but the source claims they “left the building far too easily”.
Another source to have worked closely with Levy at Spurs, again speaking anonymously, pointed out he has delivered “a core infrastructure that is probably the best in the world” and suggested that would give the club “an incredible foundation for future success – probably after Daniel’s time”.
They said it had taken Arsenal 10 to 15 years to get back to competing for titles and regularly qualifying for Champions League football after they rebuilt their infrastructure, with Levy having inherited a dilapidated stadium, old training ground and ageing squad.
However, the source suggested Levy has not yet got the “formula right” by employing the right head coach with the right players at the same time.