Tottenham fans awoke to news of a potential takeover led by Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi.
It's been a pretty bleak period for the Lilywhites, but news of ENIC's potential departure would be enough to put a collective smile on the face of the fanbase. However, there's a long way to go yet.
Daniel Levy's lofty estimation of the club and his reluctance to sell makes any potential takeover difficult and unlikely. But ENIC have to sell at some point, right?
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Who owns Tottenham?
Tottenham have been owned by the ENIC Group since 2001. The British investment company, which is led by Joe Lewis, owns over 85% of the club.
Daniel Levy, along with his family, own 29.4% of the share capital of ENIC, and he has operated as Tottenham's chairman since the club was taken over over 20 years ago. He's the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League.
How much is Tottenham worth?
Forbes valued Tottenham at £1.9bn in May 2022, just after they guaranteed themselves a spot in the 2022/23 Champions League.
What is Daniel Levy's stance on a potential sale?
Levy reportedly valued Tottenham at £3.5bn back in 2021, a valuation that was ridiculed by leading industry experts at the time.
However, Najafi is reportedly leading a consortium that's ready to bid £2.9bn for the club. While it won't match Levy's valuation, the bid indicates that his supposedly lofty estimation wasn't too far off.
Nevertheless, despite growing fan pressure, Levy isn't believed to be too keen on retiring just yet and selling his Tottenham shares. However, if a mammoth offer like the reported one from Najafi arrives, it'd surely be too hard for Levy to resist.
Has anyone tried to buy Tottenham from ENIC before?
Current Chelsea owner Todd Boehly reportedly tried to buy the club back in 2019. The American led a consortium that was in advanced negotiations to take over Tottenham for £2.3bn before talks broke down with nothing agreed.
Los Angeles Media Fund global ventures are also said to have had a £3bn offer rebuffed by ENIC in 2022. The bid matched the current owners' valuation, but the club did not want to be listed on the stock exchange.
On this edition of Oh What a Night, Sean Walsh & Jude Summerfield look back at Spurs' 2010/11 UEFA Champions League run ahead of the trip to San Siro to face AC Milan in this year's round of 16!
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What do Spurs fans think about new ownership?
Levy's popularity has never been lower. While the work he's done off the pitch has helped evolve Tottenham into a commercial force, the club's lack of on-pitch success (in terms of silverware) since ENIC took over means patience is running thin among supporters.
After sacking Mauricio Pochettino in 2019, Levy has hired a pair of managers in Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte who were supposed to bring about immediate success. Unfortunately, Mourinho's reign was a drastic failure and Conte is beginning to lose some sections of the fanbase in his second season at the club.
There are questions about the club's on-pitch direction and while there are many issues to resolve, many fans believe that Levy's departure would solve plenty of them. "We want Levy out" is chanted at every game, home and away, and such cries grow louder with each passing week.
Source : 90min