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Removal of Daniel Levy rocked Tottenham staff and could pave way for £3billion sale
Daniel Levy was removed as Tottenham chairman despite the club’s statement saying he had ‘stepped down’, talkSPORT understands. Spurs confirmed the bombshell announcement on Thursday, which came as more of a surprise to club staff than Levy himself. Lewis (left) and Levy enjoyed a partnership spanning over two decadesGetty Tottenham made the decision to end the 63-year-old’s tenure three days after the transfer deadline, following 24 years in the role. It came as part of a move to gain more sporting success on the pitch, despite the north Londoners winning the Europa League last season. Levy remains a shareholder in the club’s owners, ENIC, but won’t have any day-to-day influence over Spurs. His exit followed months of internal reviews, with the Englishman sensing for much of the summer that a departure was coming. Despite this, talkSPORT understands that his farewell shocked Spurs staff, most of whom were informed via a club email that preceded the statement claiming he had stepped down. Levy’s replacement as Tottenham’s new non-executive chairman, Peter Charrington, had been involved in the decision. Spurs’ chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, who had enjoyed a strong relationship with Levy, was equally important in the restructure. The former Arsenal official has since taken ownership of the responsibilities as CEO, having felt the executive chairman role was old-fashioned. However, Levy’s exit is understood to have been driven by the Lewis family, headed up by Joe Lewis, whose kids, Vivienne and Charlie, played a key role. The Lewis family owns a 70.12 per cent stake in ENIC (the 86.91 per cent controlling share of Tottenham), with the remaining 29.88 of the shares in the British investment company belonging to Levy. Spurs fans protested against Levy several times during his tenureGetty Levy’s exit could pave way for £3billion sale Before his removal, Levy had been tasked with finding a minority investor, having held talks with Qatar Sports Investments. His removal as chairman means it is more likely a full sale of Tottenham is considered, with the club valued at in excess of £3bn. Suggestions that a Qatari investor are closing in on a full purchase of the club are denied by well-placed sources, talkSPORT can reveal. At present, investors from the US and Saudi Arabia seem most engaged over both investment and commercial opportunities, talkSPORT understands. Joe Lewis’ children will ultimately play a major role in whether Tottenham will be put on the market, alongside Charrington. Meanwhile, Fabio Paratici‘s return to oversee recruitment has not been impacted and is expected to be complete before the end of October. Investors will be sniffing a potential lucrative opportunity Opportunity to ‘transform’ Spurs Levy’s Tottenham exit could provide the chance for an investor to ‘transform’ the club. That is the opinion of football finance expert Kieran Maguire, should the outgoing chairman chooses to sell his shares. On future plans, Maguire told talkSPORT: “First of all, I think we’ve got to look at Daniel’s own investment in Spurs, 27 or 28 per cent. “If he’s not going to be involved in the day-to-day running of the club, why continue to own those shares? So he might choose to divest himself.” Will Spurs dare to move to the next level?Getty As for potential investment, Maguire added: “I’m fully aware that Spurs have got so many saleable points. “It’s in London. You don’t have to spend money on the infrastructure because the stadiums there, the training facilities are magnificent. “It’s an incredibly attractive proposition to both American investors and Middle Eastern investors because it’s easy to get to from a transport point of view. “It’s got history and heritage. There is the opportunity to transform it. It’s in a relatively strong position from a PSR perspective. “So therefore you’re not constantly looking over your shoulder in terms of ‘what can I buy and what can’t I buy?’ “It’s certainly the biggest club in town as far as potential investors are concerned, and then it comes down to the Lewis family and what their long-term objectives are.” Levy is not responsible for all of Tottenham’s problems Former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp insists he enjoyed his time working under Levy and says the latter’s exit took him by surprise. “Absolutely out of the blue. I never saw that coming at all,” the ex-Spurs told talkSPORT “I thought Daniel would be there forever. When someone texted me [the news], I thought, ‘No, you’re having a wind-up.’” “I never had any problem with Daniel,” Redknapp added. “I sit here and I don’t have any relationship with him or speak to him, not that I don’t want to. “I found him very good to work for. He wasn’t at the training ground every day. He wasn’t poking his nose in as to who should and shouldn’t play.” Overall, fans have often been unhappy with his stewa
Daniel Levy was removed as Tottenham chairman despite the club’s statement saying he had ‘stepped down’, talkSPORT understands.
Spurs confirmed the bombshell announcement on Thursday, which came as more of a surprise to club staff than Levy himself.
Tottenham made the decision to end the 63-year-old’s tenure three days after the transfer deadline, following 24 years in the role.
It came as part of a move to gain more sporting success on the pitch, despite the north Londoners winning the Europa League last season.
Levy remains a shareholder in the club’s owners, ENIC, but won’t have any day-to-day influence over Spurs.
His exit followed months of internal reviews, with the Englishman sensing for much of the summer that a departure was coming.
Despite this, talkSPORT understands that his farewell shocked Spurs staff, most of whom were informed via a club email that preceded the statement claiming he had stepped down.
Levy’s replacement as Tottenham’s new non-executive chairman, Peter Charrington, had been involved in the decision.
Spurs’ chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, who had enjoyed a strong relationship with Levy, was equally important in the restructure.
The former Arsenal official has since taken ownership of the responsibilities as CEO, having felt the executive chairman role was old-fashioned.
However, Levy’s exit is understood to have been driven by the Lewis family, headed up by Joe Lewis, whose kids, Vivienne and Charlie, played a key role.
The Lewis family owns a 70.12 per cent stake in ENIC (the 86.91 per cent controlling share of Tottenham), with the remaining 29.88 of the shares in the British investment company belonging to Levy.
Levy’s exit could pave way for £3billion sale
Before his removal, Levy had been tasked with finding a minority investor, having held talks with Qatar Sports Investments.
His removal as chairman means it is more likely a full sale of Tottenham is considered, with the club valued at in excess of £3bn.
Suggestions that a Qatari investor are closing in on a full purchase of the club are denied by well-placed sources, talkSPORT can reveal.
At present, investors from the US and Saudi Arabia seem most engaged over both investment and commercial opportunities, talkSPORT understands.
Joe Lewis’ children will ultimately play a major role in whether Tottenham will be put on the market, alongside Charrington.
Meanwhile, Fabio Paratici‘s return to oversee recruitment has not been impacted and is expected to be complete before the end of October.
Opportunity to ‘transform’ Spurs
Levy’s Tottenham exit could provide the chance for an investor to ‘transform’ the club.
That is the opinion of football finance expert Kieran Maguire, should the outgoing chairman chooses to sell his shares.
On future plans, Maguire told talkSPORT: “First of all, I think we’ve got to look at Daniel’s own investment in Spurs, 27 or 28 per cent.
“If he’s not going to be involved in the day-to-day running of the club, why continue to own those shares? So he might choose to divest himself.”
As for potential investment, Maguire added: “I’m fully aware that Spurs have got so many saleable points.
“It’s in London. You don’t have to spend money on the infrastructure because the stadiums there, the training facilities are magnificent.
“It’s an incredibly attractive proposition to both American investors and Middle Eastern investors because it’s easy to get to from a transport point of view.
“It’s got history and heritage. There is the opportunity to transform it. It’s in a relatively strong position from a PSR perspective.
“So therefore you’re not constantly looking over your shoulder in terms of ‘what can I buy and what can’t I buy?’
“It’s certainly the biggest club in town as far as potential investors are concerned, and then it comes down to the Lewis family and what their long-term objectives are.”
Levy is not responsible for all of Tottenham’s problems
Former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp insists he enjoyed his time working under Levy and says the latter’s exit took him by surprise.
“Absolutely out of the blue. I never saw that coming at all,” the ex-Spurs told talkSPORT
“I thought Daniel would be there forever. When someone texted me [the news], I thought, ‘No, you’re having a wind-up.’”
“I never had any problem with Daniel,” Redknapp added. “I sit here and I don’t have any relationship with him or speak to him, not that I don’t want to.
“I found him very good to work for. He wasn’t at the training ground every day. He wasn’t poking his nose in as to who should and shouldn’t play.”
“Joe would have the final say,” Redknapp added. “Whether Daniel spent the money or didn’t, he always had to speak to Joe to get the final word on everything.
“If Joe didn’t want to spend big money in the transfer market, then Daniel wasn’t able to do that.
“He took the brunt of the criticism for sure, but it wasn’t always down to Daniel.”
