Tottenham and Daniel Levy dealt £37million+ blow after events in the last 24 hours
Tottenham supporters would have undoubtedly enjoyed watching Arsenal exit the UEFA Champions League, despite it coming at a cost to the North London side.
Spurs are currently locked in a fierce battle with Aston Villa to finish in the Premier League top four.
They sit just three points behind Unai Emery’s side with a game to spare. Still, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all on the horizon, as well as the visit of Manchester City in the penultimate game of the season, there is no guarantee they will finish above the Villans.
What is looking promising is a top-five finish in the Premier League, with 10 points separating Ange Postecoglou’s men and Manchester United in sixth, and up until last night that looked as if it would offer Spurs a route into the UEFA Champions League.
With Europe’s elite competition set for a rebrand next year, there will be four additional places in the competition, with two of these spots set to be handed to the countries with the highest UEFA coefficient ranking, which is determined by their clubs’ performance in Europe this season.
As per Football London (18 April), England and Germany are directly competing for the second spot, with Italy comfortably out in front, but after the Champions League results on Wednesday (17 April), the Premier League’s hopes of earning that additional spot “have been dealt a significant blow”.
Not only were Arsenal dumped out by German opposition in the form of Bayern Munich following a 1-0 loss at the Allianz Arena (3-2 on aggregate), but Real Madrid were able to sneak past Manchester City on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Ethiad (4-4 on aggregate).
It leaves no English teams left in the Champions League, and Spurs must now pin their hopes on Liverpool and West Ham overcoming first-leg defeats in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (18 April) as well as their direct top-four rivals, Aston Villa doing them a favour in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
If results again go against Tottenham, it would mean they will need to finish fourth above Villa, or else miss out on the lucrative benefits of Champions League qualification.
How much do Tottenham and Daniel Levy stand to miss out on after the latest UEFA twist?
There is no doubt that the Champions League is far and away the most lucrative European competition a team can be involved in.
As per Spurs’ financial results for the year ending June 30 2023 (via Tottenham Hotspur Official Website, 3 April), the club pocketed £56.2million in UEFA prize money following their involvement in the 2022/23 Champions League.
That is an increase of £46.1million from the season before, when they competed in the UEFA Europa Conference League, demonstarting just how much more lucrative the Champions League can be.
West Ham United lifted the Conference League last season and as per football finance expert Kieran Maguire on X (8 February), they only took home £18.8million for their efforts.
That is a difference of £37.3million between Tottenham and West Ham, despite the Hammers winning their tournament while Spurs were knocked in the Round of 16 of theirs.
The figures are mouth-watering, and with next year’s competition set to be bigger than ever, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will be desperate to see Tottenham finish strong and qualify for the Champions League.
In other Tottenham news, Levy could be set to make a “phenomenal loss” on one Spurs player following a Fabrizio Romano update.
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