Tottenham may have received a hint about the possible identity of their next major investor.
Spurs are one of the most attractive investment projects in Premier League football, according to most analysts.
It has long been understood that they are seeking investment to take them to the next level, and chairman and co-owner Daniel Levy confirmed as much in the club’s last set of accounts.
The likes of Liberty Media andMSP Sports Capital have previously been linked with either a full or partial takeover.
But that talk has gone quiet, leaving Spurs fans in the dark about who Levy might be in conversation with.
Tottenham takeover could come from Ligue 1 investor
Ligue 1 is going through a turbulent time at the moment.
The French top tier is still scrambling to find a domestic TV deal after previous rightsholder Mediapro fell into financial difficulties.
Ligue 1 have since been accused of starting their negotiating position naively high.
Kylian Mbappe’s departure is also another huge blow league-wide, especially after Lionel Messi and Neymar also left Paris Saint-German in recent years.
There are some ultra-rich investors in Ligue 1, including Man United’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Crystal Palace multi-club supremo John Textor, and Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s Qatar Sports Investment.
The Independent are reporting that there are fears of a mass exodus of investors in Ligue 1, which remains one of the tradition top five European leagues.
If that is the case, it is entirely possible that one or even several investors will have been contacted about the availability of equity in Spurs.
Whether that would be through a consortium or an individual high net worth individual is up for debate.
Either way the collapse of the French TV deal could certainly grease the wheels for a Tottenham takeover.
How much could Tottenham takeover cost?
Like any club, Spurs’ takeover value is not an objective fact but could vary wildly based on what metric one uses to establish it.
One way many investors like to assess the value of a club is by establishing its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
This is essentially a way of measuring a club’s baseline performance, separate from one-off events like player trading.
Spurs are second only to North London rivals Arsenal in this metric.
Most analysts meanwhile suggest that Spurs takeover value is likely somewhere in the region of £2-3bn.