Tottenham Hotspur

Daniel Levy blasts "completely untrue" Tottenham Hotspur takeover reports

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 20 April 2023

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy denies "completely untrue" reports that ENIC have been in talks to sell the club over the past few months.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has denied that the club have ever discussed a sale with interested parties, labelling such reports "completely untrue".

ENIC's Levy and owner Joe Lewis - who is seldom seen in North London - have been at the helm since buying a controlling stake from Lord Alan Sugar in 2000, but their stint at Tottenham has been a mixed one.

The Lilywhites have consistently challenged for Champions League football over the past decade - even reaching the final in 2019 - and they defeated Chelsea in the 2007-08 EFL Cup final.

Levy also oversaw Tottenham's move to their new state-of-the-art stadium in 2019, which has also hosted NFL games, boxing bouts and music concerts to increase revenue streams.

However, Spurs have not added a single piece of silverware to their cabinet for the past 15 years, and fans have often pointed the finger at the unpopular owners for their trophyless streak.

Levy has come under fire for a perceived lack of financial investment as well as signing Tottenham up for the doomed European Super League project in 2021, which they quickly backed out of.

Daniel Levy pictured in the Spurs stands on December 23, 2019 © Reuters

Back in February, it was reported that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi - the chair of MSP Sports Capital - was preparing to approach Enic with a £3.1bn takeover bid, which would have been swiftly rejected by Spurs.

Furthermore, Paris Saint-Germain president and Qatar Sports Investment chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi is rumoured to have met with Levy in January to discuss a possible minority stake, having shown interest in investing in a Premier League club.

However, taking questions from Cambridge University students in their debating chamber in March, Levy insisted that no talks had ever taken place, but ENIC would consider any proposals presented to them.

"I answer this question in the way I've answered it for the past 22 years. ENIC owns approximately 87 per cent of the club. We have 30,000 shareholders and most of them are fans who own the shares," Levy said.

"We have a duty to consider any proposal anyone wants to make. All I would say is we are not in negotiations with anybody, nor have we been in recent months. All the stuff that has been in the newspapers is completely untrue."

During the discussion at his alma mater, Levy also insisted that Harry Kane could "absolutely" win a trophy with Tottenham as speculation over the England captain's future heats up once more.

Tottenham occupy fifth place in the Premier League table but could move level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle United should they prevail against the Magpies in Sunday's clash at St James' Park.