‘You can see why Joe Lewis is happy’ – Finance guru wowed by ‘Phenomenal’ Tottenham
Tottenham owner Joe Lewis will be “happy” at the club’s “phenomenal numbers” and lowest wages-to-turnover ratio in the Premier League, according to Kieran Maguire.
The finance expert and new Football Insider columnist revealed how he expects Spurs to topple Man United as the “biggest matchday earners” in the country at their new stadium.
Daniel Levy was recently revealed to be the Premier League’s second-highest-paid director and his often cautious transfer market approach makes him the subject of strong criticism from the club’s supporters.
Maguire believes Levy warrants his salary and that Tottenham have punched well above their weight in terms of their financial outlay with him at the helm.
Asked whether Levy deserves his wage, Maguire told Football Insider: “Yes, he does. He has been responsible for turning Spurs into a big club.
“They’re not a big club in terms of trophies but the way that he has piloted the new stadium has made them likely to be the biggest earners in the Premier League in terms of matchday revenue.
“They’ve come from nowhere and he deserves a huge amount of credit for that. You can see why Joe Lewis, who decides his wages, is happy.
“Spurs are doing this while paying a lower proportion of their income in terms of wages than any other club in the division.
“The last four years [wages-to-turnover ratio], 41%, 39%, 39%, and they only paid 45% in 2020 and that’s a Covid year. These are phenomenal numbers.
“So he deserves every penny, from a financial point of view. Obviously, football is more than finance. Some people would rather they spent more and competed from trophies on a more regular basis, but in terms of the key performance indicators on which he is judged then the owner is very happy with his wages.”
Levy is the longest-serving chair of any Premier League side and has been in his position since 2001.
In that time he has seen Spurs win a League Cup, reach the final of the Champions League and become an established presence in the Premier League top-six.
In other news, a former Spurs man has said he fears a dressing room revolt at the club amid recent transfer developments.