As former owner Joe Lewis fades into the background, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy (left) takes «ultimate responsibility» for the club's plight
During 22 years of hard-fought negotiations at Tottenham Hotspur, the documents signed last December were among Daniel Levy's most astute moves.
Company House records have been adjusted to show that Joe Lewis no longer had club credentials before he was charged. last week with insider trading.
As a result, the Spurs received prompt assurances from the Premier League that the club was safe, regardless of the New York case against the British billionaire. Lewis denies the allegations.
However, one major crisis averted also raises an unanswered question: if Lewis isn't holding Levy accountable at Tottenham, will anyone?
To some, the 61-year-old cannot be fired as co-owner and chairman of the board surrounded by a small board of directors. However, with such an active participation in day-to-day affairs, he can only blame himself for the club's recent troubles. Shortly after Antonio Conte's dismissal, Levi admitted that «ultimately the responsibility lies with me.» Telegraph Sport understands that behind the scenes, he and the board held a general meeting to reassure the club's 700 employees of their long term.
But after four years of fairly regular upheavals since the Champions League final defeat, former key allies are losing faith that the system is working. “There is a real concern about the leadership of the club,” said one former employee who claims to be aware of the feelings of the members. Another key employee added: “It has become very difficult for the staff. In everything that has to do with money, Daniel wants to participate. He is a brilliant, ruthless operator, but he manages on a micro level, and it is difficult for those below him to grow and show leadership.”
The club itself vehemently rejects any hint of internal unrest about the direction. Critics «clearly missed» the meeting, one key source said, adding that the plans were made «crystal clear.»
However, as Ange Postekoglou leads a new era for the club, there are, as is customary at Spurs, unwanted distractions. Harry Kane's potential move to Bayern Munich has not been decided and Hugo Lloris' transfer has been delayed. Levy appears to be busy: a new director of football has yet to be appointed, and the official start date for Scott Mann as chief football director is causing some uncertainty.
The all-powerful chairman's track record as a tough negotiator has been cited as a potential problem in Kane's transfer situation as Manchester United among clubs ruled out a bid for the England captaincy. «I know other English clubs don't like dealing with Levy,» said one former colleague. «It's not good for competitive tensions that Bayern have a clear record of success.» This determination to pursue value at all costs once served Levy well, but this summer it also drew criticism from José Mourinho, who claimed that «Mr. Levy didn't let me win the final or win the trophy.»
Levy's supporters believe his critics should be careful what they wish for, saying he remains «addicted» to Spurs' success. He provided European football for most of his years, made the club's finances self-sufficient, and his obsessive approach to detail was praised in the award-winning stadium project. “I stopped traveling with him because he just never sleeps,” Christopher Lee, Populous managing director and land architect, said earlier. «I'm sure he sleeps two or three hours a night.»
«Daniel is acting in the interests of the club,» added sources still working at the club. “He has to negotiate good deals as the club operates on the basis of FFP (financial fair play) profit and loss rules. Why should this be criticized?”
Decommissioned at a public school, Levy buckled up
Levy, a father of four, admits he's also demanding and says his fear of «failure» has helped him become one of football's most formidable cameramen. Being kicked out of a school in Essex, he said in a documentary shown on TNT Sports, was a «wake-up call» for me. «I wasn't necessarily particularly smart, but I was willing to work hard, and from that moment I buckled in.»
After achieving first-class awards at Cambridge, he worked in the private equity sector, where he formed a business association with Lewis. In the mid-1990s, he determined that the Premier League was ripe for investment and said he «accidentally» ended up investing in Tottenham because he had been a fan of the club all his life.
However, insiders say that it's a common misconception that Lewis, 86, has ever taken football seriously since Levy finally convinced Alan Sugar to sell. Levy has always been the main decision maker in his roles as co-owner, chairman and de facto chief executive officer, having paid himself £3.265 million to make him one of the highest paid directors in world football.
“Joe very rarely interfered,” said one source close to the club. “There have been offers to the club in the past and Joe has pushed them to Daniel so that he has the final say. It is inconceivable that he was involved in the sale of players. He is not a football man, he is a money man.”
Next season, Vivien Lewis Silverton, daughter of Lewis, is likely to be the most active member of the family — beneficiaries of a discretionary trust that ultimately owns 70.12% of the share capital of Enic Sports Inc. That doesn't mean the Lewis family plans to become more famous.
«It's unlikely anyone has ever seen Joe,» adds one source. “He has always been quite pleasant. He was never arrogant, never threw himself at anything, otherwise you thought to yourself: «This is the guy with all the money.»
Although Levy also retains an aversion to publicity, he is described as more of a «thrill-seeker», collecting fast cars and skiing regularly. He also collects fine wine, an interest in which he shared with Mauricio Pochettino.
However, amid fears that his bargaining power is waning, there are conflicting claims about whether he is getting closer to allowing their biggest passion project, Spurs, go ahead.
Despite the club's total value of £3.5bn when approached in September 2021, negotiations for the sale have yet to move forward. Since then, bidders have included Qatar Sports Investments, which met Levy while weighing a new minority stake in the Premier League club to add to its Paris St-Germain property, and Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, who was to make a full payment. offer.
F1 owner Liberty Media is also mentioned by one insider as a potential interested party, though the company has yet to respond to Telegraph Sport's request for comment.
But several partners — in a version of events that is heavily disputed by club sources — suggest Levy himself is the reason for the lack of progress in selling the club. Adds one former employee: «The biggest stumbling block in any takeover is the fact that Daniel doesn't want to just leave.»
The second added: “You are the owner, chairman and CEO, he wants to keep one of those titles – he still wants to be the guy who runs it day in and day out. He is obsessed with it. He doesn't want to leave until he sees something like success on the pitch. But I just don't understand how they do it without changing regimes.»
0308 Tottenham's finishing positions
The club's current insiders insist that Levy's offer to stay if sold is «nonsense as never before «. discussed.» “Daniel showed the vision and delivered,” the source added of his approach. «Given that he's the owner, it's perfectly acceptable that he's actively involved.»
Levi needs a huge jump in fortune on the field to justify such a hands-on approach. Last season, Tottenham Hotspur failed to qualify for European football for the first time since 2008-09, while charging more season tickets than any other Premier League team. While he may have won the club's biggest defense battle as former owner Lewis tries to clear his name in a US court, the murmurings of his world-class stadium grounds will escalate faster than ever if the Postecoglou era doesn't end. as planned.
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