(Credit: Manh Tung - Breaking Media/Imago)

James Murray

Thu 12 March 2026 17:00, UK

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West Ham United are likely to face bigger financial issues than Tottenham if they are relegated this season. 

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider Spurs have a better chance of selling out their stadium in the Championship than the Hammers.

West Ham currently sit third-bottom in the Premier League table, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have picked up some crucial results over the past couple of months.

Tottenham are just one point above the Hammers in 16th place, while they have failed to win any of their past 11 Premier League games.

Relegation would mark a significant financial blow for West Ham and Tottenham after spending several years in the top flight. 

Why West Ham face instant £10m blow after relegation

West Ham released their latest accounts towards the end of February, showing their revenue dropped from £270million in 2023-24 to £228m last season. 

Meanwhile, the Hammers recorded a pre-tax loss of £104m despite posting a £57m profit the previous year.

Tottenham are yet to publish their official accounts, but Deloitte’s 2026 Money League revealed their turnover increased from £528m to £565m last season.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed how West Ham would mitigate the cost of relegation compared to Spurs.

“I’m sure they’ve got relegation clauses that will cut the biggest part of the expenses,” said Borson.

“That will cut them out. I think they’re less likely to be able to sell out the stadium in the Championship than Spurs. 

“It’s not the first time West Ham have been down, and I think it will be harder for them on matchdays, so they’ll probably take quite a big hit there.

“Then the commercial issue with the front-of-shirt sponsor is a big issue because clearly if you’ve got all of the betting sponsors coming out and then you’re also in the Championship, the value of that deal is going to go from let’s say £15m that it is now to probably less than £5m, so you lose £10m there straight away.”

How West Ham can mitigate costs of relegation

Borson insisted relegation would be harder for West Ham than Tottenham due to their financial situation.

“Look, there are ways in which they can mitigate the situation,” said Borson.

“They can sell players. They’re going to have a big reduction in the wage bill anyway. They’ll have to make some redundancies probably. 

“But I would just worry a little bit more about West Ham’s ability to mitigate a season in the Championship compared to Spurs.

“Spurs, if they were top of the table, will still generally generate very similar amounts on matchday and probably not that far away in respect to commercial. I think it’s going to be harder for West Ham.”