Cristian Romero is far from the first person involved with Tottenham to document their frustrations with Daniel Levy and ENIC, the club’s owners since 2001.
In recent years, there have been thinly veiled digs from the likes of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, who criticised the prevailing culture at Spurs in broad terms.
Then there has been less subtle rhetoric from supporters, many of whom have grown weary of what they see as the club’s prioritisation of revenue over success on the pitch.
Since the move to into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, Spurs’ revenue has almost trebled compared to their last season at White Hart Lane. But still no silverware.
There have been a couple of near misses in that time – the Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019 and League Cup loss to Man City two years later – but not the glory that fans crave.
After one win in their last six matches, albeit an impressive on against Manchester City, their chances of a podium finish in any competition under Ange Postecoglou this season look slim too.
In fact, they are now the same number of points from the bottom of the Premier League table as they are to the top.
Daniel Levy and ENIC, who together control the vast majority of Tottenham’s equity and voting rights, would argue that is not because of a lack of investment.
The accounts show spending on amortisation (how clubs account for transfer fees over time) and wages have indeed risen every season since 2018-19, reaching a combined £360m in the last financial year.
However, the gap between revenue and player costs is growing wider. Spurs’ squad cost is also the lowest of any of the so-called ‘Big Six’ clubs.
What’s more, as a percentage of revenue, Spurs have the lowest squad cost in the whole top flight. In fact, they are complete outlier in this metric.
They spent 66 per cent of revenue on wages and amortisation. Brentford and Brighton are next with 78 per cent, then Arsenal with 80 per cent.
Again, the riposte from Levy and ENIC would be that spending is out of control across the Premier League. Tottenham, they would argue, are one of the only clubs whose business model is sustainable.
They have a point – that much is impossible to deny.
But the reality of modern football, of which Cristian Romero is keenly aware, is that it’s nigh on impossible to compete for silverware without wild spending.
The sovereign wealth funds, private equity titans, and multi-sport empires that dominate the game’s financial ecosystem have made sure of that.
In a Premier League table ordered by the private wealth of club owners, Tottenham are bottom-half.
Premier League owners by net worth
Romero, who is being courted by Real Madrid, suggested after Spurs’ 4-3 defeat to Chelsea last Sunday, in which he went off injured when his side were two goals up, that more investment is needed.
He also alluded to a culture in N17 that, regardless of changes to the player or staff setup, makes success tough to obtain.
What exactly did Cristiano Romero say about ENIC and Daniel Levy?
As quoted by BBC Sport, the World Cup winner told Spanish media: “Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn’t do well, strengthens again, and now they’re seeing results. Those are the things to imitate.
“You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they [the board] realise it.”
“The last few years, it’s always the same – first the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it’s always the same people responsible.
“Hopefully they realise who the true responsible ones are and we move forward because it’s a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year.”
How much does Daniel Levy earn at Tottenham?
Like every other Premier League owner or co-owner, Levy does not take a dividend through his ownership of Tottenham
However, unlike most major shareholders of those clubs, Levy is also Tottenham’s chairman. And he is handsomely rewarded in that position.
Spurs’ accounts since 2001, when Joe Lewis and ENIC took control of the club from Alan Sugar and installed Levy as head of the board, show that Levy has earned £51m in that period.
That figure includes salary and bonuses.
£51m is comfortably the highest of any other Premier League director in that period.
The next closest challenger was Man United, where the best-paid directors on an annual basis since 2001 – probably a combination of David Gill and Ed Woodward – earned £41m over the same timeframe.
Amanda Staveley’s investment plans: Will part-takeover unlock extra funds for Ange Postecoglou?
Many Spurs are praying that salvation is around the corner, with Amanda Staveley looking to invest in Tottenham having raised £500m through her PCP Capital Partners.
Tottenham are actively courting a fresh capital injection which, in Levy’s own words, will be used to “invest in the teams and undertake future capital projects.”
However, it is unlikely that a minority investment will yield a major, sustained increase in the club’s expenditure in the transfer market.
Staveley has already briefed that she hopes her next investment – be that at Spurs or AS Monaco, where she has also been linked – will open up a pathway to full ownership.
But until an outright takeover of the club, the budget made available to Ange Postecoglou and sporting director Johan Lange is unlikely to match their peers in the ‘Big Six’.
