The Athletic journalist Charlie Eccleshare has provided some updates about the club’s financial situation recently.
Eccleshare recently joined as a guest on The Totally Football Show podcast. He was asked about Tottenham’s financial situation and how important Champions League qualification could be for the club.
It was recently reported that Spurs have taken a loan from the Bank of England to seek support during the pandemic. The club is reportedly set to lose £200 million as a result of playing games behind closed doors, and are eligible for the loan, which is repayable with a 0.5% interest rate (via BBC Sport).
Eccleshare revealed that Champions League qualification is ‘hugely’ important for Spurs and that the pandemic has hit the club hard.
The journalist said: “Yes, it’s [CL qualification] hugely important. They are a club, them and Arsenal proportion-wise, [that] are most reliant on matchday revenue. And if you think the business model of that new stadium was so predicated on there being matchday revenue, not just from football matches, but from gigs, from rugby, from boxing, from NFL, it was going to be this single dancing venue, not just a football ground.
Will Jose Mourinho take Spurs to top four this season?
Yes, I'm very confident
No chance
“That’s obviously all gone, everything’s been cancelled, so it has hit them very, very hard, and they were quick to recognize that. So Champions League is extremely important. They’re in the fortunate position of having most of their key players assigned to long-term contracts. So they wouldn’t be bullied into selling them in the way that some teams would be.
“For all these teams, the pandemic has exposed the pretty shaky foundations of the Premier League a lot of the club’s finances are built on. Champions League qualification is just so, so important for them.”
Eccleshare seems pretty clear that while Spurs have suffered financially because of the pandemic, they do have certain plans in place that will help them tide them over.
TIF Thoughts…
Spurs’ game against Manchester United will have big implications on their top-four aspirations. The club is currently in 8th and a win against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will take them to only a point behind the Red Devils – whereas a loss will open up a gap of seven points (via BBC Sport).
Eccleshare does point out how important Champions League qualification will be and the game against United will be huge, in that respect. So Tottenham fans can only hope that the side pick up a win, or it could indirectly make an impact on their finances in the long run.