Roberto De Zerbi would be “very expensive” for Tottenham Hotspur to sack if his time doesn’t work out in north London.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider Spurs will have included “liquidated damages clauses” in the Italian manager’s contract.
Tottenham confirmed De Zerbi’s appointment on a five-year deal this week following the departure of interim boss Igor Tudor.
The 46-year-old takes over with the north London giants sitting 17th in the Premier League table, just one point above the relegation zone.
It is understood De Zerbi’s contract doesn’t include a relegation release clause, while Tottenham will pay him a bonus for keeping them in the top flight this season.
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What would Tottenham have to pay to sack Roberto De Zerbi?
Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness told Football Insider De Zerbi’s contract is “astonishing” after insisting Tottenham have given him “everything he wanted”.
The Italian previously spent two years as Brighton manager, while his latest role was at Marseille.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed the clauses in De Zerbi’s contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Presumably, he said he wouldn’t take the job unless it was a full-time gig,” said Borson.
“He wasn’t interested in a short term with a big bonus. I don’t know if it makes that much difference really, aside from the optics.
“If they sack him, they won’t be paying five years out. They’ll have a liquidated damages clause that will set a level of damages at let’s say 12 months’ notice after the first six months, maybe six months in the first six months.
“They say there’s no release clause, but that doesn’t really mean anything. At the end of the day, there’s always a release clause because you can always sack him and always pay him off, so I don’t think that means anything.”
Why Tottenham have made ‘surprising’ De Zerbi decision
Borson questioned whether handing De Zerbi the job on a permanent basis was the right approach from Tottenham.
“There’s a question as to whether it’s a smart idea when they’ve got a natural window of seven games, where you say to somebody let’s just concentrate on getting safe and then we’ll talk about whether there’s a role going forward,” said Borson.
“Obviously, De Zerbi said he wasn’t interested in that proposal, negotiated hard and got himself a full-time job. It is a very difficult situation for them to win three games from here, if that’s what it takes.
“Most people think it might be two, but it could be three games that you need, and their fixtures are really quite tricky. They start tricky away at Sunderland.
“It could be a very expensive situation. But then again, getting relegated is going to be massively costly. It is interesting as to whether they put in a reduction clause to his contract if they get relegated or whether they’re just not bothered. It is a bit surprising if they haven’t.”
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