Levi picks up £7m salary as Spurs bid to cut wages

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy says salaries for non-playing staff are being cut due to the coronavirus pandemic as the club have disclosed his pay package more than doubled to £7 million last year.

The disclosure about Levy’s salary and bonus for the club’s new stadium being completed came in accounts published on the British company register.

As Spurs grapple with the economicfalloutofthepremier League being halted they are trying to reduce the wage bill, including of the club’s leadership.

“Yesterday, having already taken steps to reduce costs,” Levy said on the club website, “we ourselves made the difficult decision – in order to protect jobs – to reduce the remuneration of all 550 non-playing directors and employees for April and May by 20 per cent utilising, where appropriate, the government’s furlough scheme. We shall continue to review this position.”

The club did not respond to a question about how many staff were being furloughed.

Levy added, “the club’s operations have effectively ceased” and there is “no certainty when we may play games again or whether we will be allowed to play in front of our fans”.

He also indicated a desire for coach Jose Mourinho and the players to accept a reduction in pay.

“We hope the current discussions between the Premier League, PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) and LMA (League Managers Association) will result in players and coaches doing their bit for the football ecosystem,” Levy said. “Many families will have lost loved ones, many businesses will have been destroyed, millions of jobs lost and many clubs whether big or small may struggle to exist.

“It is incumbent on me as chairman to ensure we do everything we can to protect our employees, our fans, our partners, our club for future generations – and equally important – our wider community where we have such an immense sense of responsibility.”