Tottenham club value compared to Man Utd after £1.5bn Ratcliffe decision
Tottenham news as the move by Manchester United to vote on Sir Jim Ratcliffe offer leaves Spurs fighting even bigger challenges
Manchester United are worth more than double that of Tottenham according to Forbes (Image: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I’ve got no real interest to leave Tottenham, but I have a duty to consider anything that anyone may want to propose. It’s not about me, it’s about what’s right for the club.” Daniel Levy was not shying away from tough questions when he was asked last month about what the future holds for him.
It has been a remarkable 12 months for the Spurs chairman with both on-field and off-field clouds hanging over the club before Ange Postecoglou’s side stunned many to race to the top of the Premier League table. Issues beneath the surface remain for Levy though and he now faces a new challenge.
With Manchester United themselves set to get added investment from fellow British businessman, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, there is a fresh unknown aspect about what is to come. United have been one of the most inefficient teams of the past decade, a far cry from Tottenham who operate on a similar and competitive level with the Red Devils despite a fraction of the budget.
Spurs’ operating income, for example, is nearly 50 per cent than United’s despite drawing in over £150million less total revenue per annum. Before the collapse under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte – a large shadow that will continue to follow Levy despite the early success of Postecoglou – Tottenham were getting significantly more bang for their buck than a wasteful United side.
Under Mauricio Pochettino Spurs became one of the best sides in the country and did it by hardly spending a dime, let alone over £1billion ($1.2bn) on new players like the Glazer family. The challenge for Tottenham is now to go one step further as they compete with the global might of United.
According to Forbes, it is only Real Madrid that are worth more than the Red Devils. They are said to have a current value of £4.93m ($6bn) but that is much lower than the price demanded by the Glazers as well as what Ratcliffe could end up paying.
The Ineos owner is set to purchase a 25 per cent stake for around £1.5billion ($1.8bn), Ben Jacobs writes, which comes to a total valuation of £6billion ($7.3bn). This still falls below the £8billion ($9.74bn) reported desire of the Glazers throughout this protracted investment process.
It does, importantly, come at a larger price than Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and his group were prepared to pay. That is partially down to the 25 per cent stake meaning a smaller initial investment compared to one large cash sum.
So just how much are Tottenham reportedly worth? Forbes have them in at ninth in the table, one place behind Chelsea but ahead of fierce north London rivals Arsenal. The total figure is £2.3billion ($2.8bn), a 19% rise compared to last year, still some way behind Chelsea but also some way in front of the Gunners.
More drastically, this figure is less than half of the United valuation and already £1.6billion ($2bn) from sixth place Bayern Munich. What the list represents is just how big the numbers get towards the top level and the European super clubs.
The breakdown of this valuation comes with £496million ($604m) in matchday income for Tottenham, who have the second largest stadium in the league behind only Old Trafford, as well as £721million ($879m) from broadcast revenue. Manchester United, who are one of the biggest tourist attractions in sport, have a matchday reported value of £811million ($988m) and a broadcasting total over £1.56billion ($1.9bn), partially due to being in the Champions League.
Commercial values come in at £711.2million ($866m) for Spurs and a giant £1.6billion ($2bn) for United despite not hosting the same level of events at their stadium as well as over £410million ($500m) difference in the brand value.
What is interesting is that United could end up receiving around 21% more than Forbes suggests they are worth. With United struggling both on and off the field with the atmosphere at the club heading towards a new low under the Glazers, this represents the scale of the task for Tottenham but also a point of positivity for Levy.
His side are making giant strides towards rivalling those at the top of the money list even with fewer resources and with a newfound elegance to their game it is not out of the equation that a future offer is made for the club. “We run this club as if it’s a public company,” he explained in September.
“If anyone wants to make a serious proposition to the board of Tottenham we would consider it, along with our advisers, and if we felt it was in the interests of the club we would be open to anything.” It’s tough to know in the world of football and finances what a realistic sale price would be for Tottenham but if we take the 20 per cent higher than Forbes way of working it could come in at £2.76billion ($3.36bn).
Considering Tottenham were purchased for a reported £21.9 million ($26m) by Enic Group in 2001 – Levy and his family controlling nearly 30 per cent of the company – the rise since then is nothing short of staggering. Who knows, there’s a disappointed and Manchester United-less Sheikh Jassim out there somewhere.
