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April 1, 2020

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Spurs unveil salary cuts amid chairman鈥檚 pay rise

Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy says salaries for non-playing staff are being cut due to the coronavirus pandemic even as the club disclosed that his pay package more than doubled to 7 million pounds (US$9 million) last year.

The disclosure yesterday about Levy鈥檚 salary and bonus for the north London club鈥檚 new stadium being completed came in accounts also published on the British company register.

The corporate filing of the club鈥檚 2018-19 annual report came as Tottenham is grappling with the unexpected economic fallout of the English Premier League 鈥 and all sport in Britain 鈥 being halted in an effort to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease. That has led Spurs to follow Barcelona and Juventus in trying to reduce the wage bill, including of the club鈥檚 leadership.

鈥淵esterday, having already taken steps to reduce costs,鈥 Levy said on the club website yesterday, 鈥渨e ourselves made the difficult decision 鈥 in order to protect jobs 鈥 to reduce the remuneration of all 550 non-playing directors and employees for April and May by 20 percent, utilizing, where appropriate, the government鈥檚 furlough scheme. We shall continue to review this position.鈥

The club did not respond to a question about how many staff were being furloughed.

In the statement, Levy said that 鈥渢he club鈥檚 operations have effectively ceased鈥 and there is 鈥渘o certainty when we may play games again or whether we will be allowed to play in front of our fans.鈥

Levy indicated a desire for coach Jose Mourinho and the players to accept forgoing some pay as well.

鈥淲e hope the current discussions between the Premier League, PFA (Professional Footballers鈥 Association) and LMA (League Managers Association) will result in players and coaches doing their bit for the football ecosystem,鈥 he said.

鈥淢any families will have lost loved ones, many businesses will have been destroyed, millions of jobs lost and many clubs whether big or small may struggle to exist,鈥 Levy added. 鈥淚t is incumbent on me as chairman to ensure we do everything we can to protect our employees, our fans, our partners, our club for future generations 鈥 and equally important 鈥 our wider community where we have such an immense sense of responsibility.鈥

The disclosure about Levy鈥檚 pay as the 鈥渉ighest paid director鈥 came in accounts the club has to file annually to Companies House. Levy received a salary of 4 million pounds 鈥 up from 3 million pounds in 2017-18 鈥 plus a deferred bonus of 3 million pounds for the new 61,000-seat stadium being completed last year.

Levy鈥檚 pay rise coincided with one of Tottenham鈥檚 most successful seasons, reaching a first UEFA Champions League final 鈥 losing to Liverpool 鈥 and finishing in the EPL鈥檚 top four for a fourth successive season to secure a place back in Europe鈥檚 elite competition.


 

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