Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy said that the English Premier League is now “in the hands of a few” super-rich clubs as he defended his team’s level of spending in the transfer market.
On Friday, Tottenham posted their accounts for the 2021-2022 season, with revenue rising to ￡444 million (US$537 million).
However, the club still reported losses of ￡50 million due to spending on new players.
Photo: Reuters
Levy and the club’s owners ENIC have been criticized by fans for failing to match the spending of rival clubs at the top of the Premier League.
Levy said that his club cannot compete with the likes of Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City or Chelsea, who smashed transfer records in the first year since being taken over by Todd Boehly’s consortium.
“The landscape of the Premier League has changed significantly in the last decade,” Levy said in his chairman’s statement to the club accounts. “It is understandable that some fans call for more spending, much of which is unsustainable for many clubs.”
“We are competing in a league in which we have seen increased sovereign wealth ownership and consortia finance; and in a league where the spending power is now vested in the hands of a few who dominate and have the ability to distort the market,” he said.
Tottenham have spent heavily in the past three transfer windows to back manager Antonio Conte.
However, Levy said that Tottenham were still feeling the after-effects of failed big-money signings such as Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso, both of whom are now out on loan.
“Our spend levels show we have invested in the team — however, we walk a fine line between long-term investment and short-termism,” Levy added. “This is why our recruitment must be first class as mistakes at this level have a financial and sporting impact for future seasons.”
“We have felt, and continue to feel, the financial impact of supporting player purchases which have not worked out as planned,” he said. “We have taken steps to improve this area of operations and we believe the recent transfer windows reflect this.”
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