In The Money: Tottenham reaping rewards from Harry Kane sale as they overtake Arsenal
Tottenham have climbed into the top ten most profitable clubs in the world in terms of raising money through academy player sales.
Spurs brought in £220million through that method over the past decade, as revealed by CIES Football Observatory.
The numbers were highlighted by Martin Lipton in his ‘The Lipton Factor’ column in The Sun’s print edition [11 January, page 45].
The £104m sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich last summer admittedly made up nearly half of that sum, but every sale counts.
Indeed, the Swiss-based organisation added that Spurs have sold 23 players who came through their academy during that period.
That compares to the 30 sold by Benfica, who are the most profitable club in the world in this metric with £444m brought into the club.
Ajax (£324), Lyon (£319m) and Real Madrid (£313m) make up the rest of the top four, while Chelsea are in fifth.
Indeed, only Chelsea (£299m) made more money than Spurs among English clubs, while Manchester City were not far behind Tottenham on £218m.
Spurs’ fierce rivals Arsenal, once famous for their academy gems, are 23rd on the list (£156m), despite selling 26 different players.
Again, cashing in on Kane last summer has lifted Spurs way up this list, but a further £116m came in through selling others.
The report shows Spurs generated £144m through academy player sales between 2019 and 2023, compared to £77m in the four years prior.
That is a 65-per-cent leap, and it has helped bring in funds to keep the squad fresh for this new era under Ange Postecoglou.
Even in that four-year period between 2014 and 2018, Spurs ranked a respectable 16th in the world, so this is clearly something that is sustainable.
That is not to say supporters want to see academy players sold – especially not Kane – but it is very much a part of football.
Given the quality of the players now rising through the ranks, do not be surprised to see Tottenham remain high up on this list in four years’ time.
The key for Postecoglou, of course, is to ensure the Lilywhites continue to remain competitive in the meantime.
In other Tottenham news, Postecoglou is onto a winner at Spurs as a “top” 77-per-cent player has left Rio Ferdinand wowed.