Daniel Levy has demanded “strict oversight” over one Premier League trend, which is increasingly concerning the Tottenham Hotspur chairman.
Tottenham have ground to make up on their Premier League rivals as they look to bounce back from a 17th-place finish.
A Europa League win could not save former head coach Ange Postecoglou. Thomas Frank replaced him as Tottenham head coach ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Whilst Spurs have been busy bolstering Frank’s playing squad, with Joao Palhinha becoming the latest signing ahead of the new Premier League season, Levy also has an eye on developments off the field.
Now, Daniel Levy has pinpointed the one major governance development that worries him ahead of the new season.
Daniel Levy demands ‘strict governance’ of multi-club ownership
Speaking on The Overlap, alongside former Manchester United and England player Gary Neville, Levy addressed his concerns with the increasing prevalence of multi-club ownership in the English game.
According to Levy, the possibility of the multi-club model being abused means it requires close observation. Levy said: “I’d say we’re going through a period of significant change. The Premier League is already the most competitive league in the world – more competitive now than it’s ever been.
“We’re also entering a new phase of government intervention and regulation. Personally, I’m not in favour of that, but it’s coming, and we have to accept and embrace it.
“Sustainability is absolutely fundamental to the long-term health of the game across the entire football pyramid. One of the biggest issues right now is multi-club ownership, which barely existed five years ago but is now becoming far more prevalent.
“Am I against it? I think we have to be very careful. When a single ownership group is involved in multiple clubs, and with the kind of money in the game today, there needs to be strict oversight.
“Are we talking about how costs are distributed among those clubs? Yes, that’s part of it. We have financial control measures in place, but the system can be abused. And that worries me.
“There’s so much money in the game now that it only takes one owner behaving inappropriately to damage the confidence of sponsors and broadcasters, not just here but across European football. That’s why this needs very tight control.”
Crystal Palace have already fallen foul of multi-club rules
When the 49ers Enterprises completed their investment in Scottish giants Rangers, newly-promoted Leeds United became the latest Premier League club to enter into a multi-club ownership model.
Whilst the model can bring benefits through the sharing of resources such as scouting and analytics, it has been criticised as creating potential conflicts of interest, particularly in European competitions.
Crystal Palace have already fallen foul of the increasing regulation of multi-club ownership models, after they were demoted from the Europa League due to Textor’s ownership stake in Palace and French club Olympique Lyonnais.
Levy’s cautionary words could fire the starting gun on a wider debate on an issue which could change the way football clubs are governed across the world.