DANIEL LEVY was dramatically forced out of Tottenham after 25 years at the helm.
The bombshell announcement on Thursday evening brings to an end a quarter of a century of his leadership at the club as executive chairman.
The 63-year-old’s shock exit is believed to have been instigated by the Lewis family, who are behind the club’s majority owners, ENIC.
British billionaire Joe Lewis, 88, used to be at the head of ENIC but now it is his children Vivienne and Charles who are calling the shots.
They are understood to have driven a number of changes at Tottenham in recent months, in a bid to improve results on the pitch.
That has seen the likes of head coach Ange Postecoglou, chief football officer Scott Munn and long-serving director Donna Cullen all leave.
While former Arsenal supremo Vinai Venkatesham arrived as CEO over the summer – a move Tottenham confirmed was part of their planning for life after Levy – and Thomas Frank came in as manager.
And now Peter Charrington has taken over as chairman, albeit in a non-executive capacity, replacing Levy, who won just two trophies in his quarter of the century at the club, including May’s Europa League.
Charrington only joined the Tottenham board in March while Venkatesham has taken on the day-to-day running of the club.
A source close to the Lewis family told SunSport: “Generations of the Lewis family support this special football club and they want what the fans want – more wins more often.
“This is why you have seen recent changes, new leadership and a fresh approach.
“In Vinai, Thomas and Peter Charrington, they believe they are backing the right team to deliver on this. This is a new era.”
Daniel Levy’s greatest Tottenham moments
SUNSPORT looks back at Daniel Levy’s biggest milestones as Tottenham chairman
- 2000: Levy gets appointed to the board of Tottenham
- 2001: Levy replaces Lord Sugar as chairman of Tottenham
- 2007: Tottenham make it to the quarter-finals of the Uefa Cup
- 2008: Tottenham win the League Cup
- 2010: For the first time ever, Tottenham qualify for the Champions League after their inaugural top-four finish in the Premier League
- 2011: Tottenham make it to the Champions League quarter-finals
- 2013: Levy sells Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a then record £85.3million
- 2015: Construction for Tottenham’s new £1.2billion stadium begins
- 2019: Tottenham leave White Hart Lane after 118 years to move to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- 2019: Tottenham make it to the Champions League final where they lose 2-0 to Liverpool
- 2023: Tottenham sell all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich for a record £104m
- 2025: Tottenham win the Europa League by beating Manchester United in the final
It is understood that the owners felt this was the natural moment for change at the top after 25 years of Levy, a Europa League win, and now a new generation of the Lewis family at the helm.
Vivienne Lewis, 62, has been spotted next to Levy at recent games.
She, along with her brother Charles, 61, plus the influential Nick Beucher who is chief executive of the Lewis family’s Tavistock company.
The Lewis family are believed to have no current plans to sell the club and are committed to the future of Spurs.
The club’s statement clearly stated: “There are no changes to the ownership or shareholder structure of the Club.”
But that has not stopped rumours circulating that Levy’s exit opens the door to a possible takeover – however, Qatari sources have shut down any talk of potential investment on their side.
ENIC own 86.91 per cent of Tottenham’s shares. Levy joined Spurs’ board in 2000 when ENIC bought a 27 per cent stake in the club from Sir Alan Sugar.
‘Right call, curious timing’ – Tom Barclay on Daniel Levy’s Tottenham exit
By Tom Barclay
THE timing was curious but it was the right call.
He may have seen it differently, but Daniel Levy’s fractious relationship with many Tottenham fans had broken down to the point of no return.
No matter what he did – and he did do a considerable amount for the North Londoners – their view of him had become entrenched and unchangeable.
It meant that every time Spurs had a bad result, or a transfer go awry, as seen by the Eberechi Eze hijack earlier this summer, the finger was instantly pointed to Levy.
The noise would grow to toxic levels – and not just on social media – and risk enveloping the club completely.
Levy’s stewardship, along with that of majority owners ENIC, had thousands of supporters taking to the streets in protest ahead of February’s 1-0 win over Manchester United.
Even when he finally oversaw a second trophy of his 25-year tenure in May with the clinching of the Europa League – 17 years after the first piece of silverware – it was not enough to change hearts and minds.
Levy turned Spurs into genuine powerhouses of English football in his quarter of a century and built one of the greatest football stadiums on the planet.
But his lack of trophies, approach to transfers, poor communication, ticket-pricing stance and flirtation with the failed Super League, meant the alleged negatives outweighed the positives in the minds of many fans.
His trigger-happy nature of hiring and firing 15 permanent bosses irked supporters, too.
Jose Mourinho was axed just days before the 2021 Carabao Cup final, while Ange Postecoglou was dismissed two weeks on from his Europa League triumph.
Neither are expected to rush to wish their condolences to Levy now he too has departed.
My only meeting with Levy came in 2022 during the club’s Far-Eastern tour to Seoul in South Korea, where he joined a group of journalists for a cup of tea for 15 minutes at the club’s plush hotel.
He was perfectly pleasant, if cagey, and you left being none the wiser on his views.
But the view from a vast swathe of supporters on him has been clear for some time.
Levy, the highest-paid director in the Premier League on £3.7million a year, became the lightning rod for all their frustrations, rightly or wrongly.
They had called for his exit long ago and were only going to do it again and again in the coming years.
If the new generation of the Lewis family who are in control of Spurs now are genuine about their vision of the future, it is understandable why they wanted to put that toxicity in the past.
He told Gary Neville just last month that when he’s no longer at Tottenham, “I’m sure I’ll get the credit” for all he has done for the club.
Now that theory will be put to the test after his shock exit three games into the new season.
He then stepped into the role of executive chairman in February 2001.
Fans have been frustrated by the lack of silverware under Levy, with the Europa League triumph coming 17 years after their only other trophy – the 2008 League Cup – during his tenure.
But under his stewardship, he turned them into one of the powerhouses of the Premier League.
He oversaw the building of one of the world’s finest stadiums – which opened in 2019 – the same year Spurs lost the Champions League final.
Levy also haggled the then-world-record £85million transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in 2013 and forged a reputation as one of football’s toughest negotiators.
Supporters have regularly protested his and ENIC’s running of the club, though, with thousands taking to the streets to call for change ahead of February’s 1-0 win over Manchester United.
Levy stepped down less than three months after appointing Frank as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement as manager – despite the Australian’s Bilbao triumph.
In a statement on Spurs’ website, Levy – who recently told Gary Neville he thinks he would only get the credit he deserves once he left the club – said: “I am incredibly proud of the work I have done together with the executive team and all our employees.
“We have built this club into a global heavyweight competing at the highest level.
‘Levy was Prem’s top pantomime villain… but good outweighs bad’ – Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
SO what did Daniel Levy ever do for Tottenham Hotspur?
Apart from giving them the world’s greatest football stadium, a world-class training ground, regular Champions League football, a first-ever European Cup Final appearance and this year’s Europa League triumph?
For a quarter of a century – the longest reign of any Premier League chairman – Levy has sat, largely silently, in the Spurs directors box with an air of the Austin Powers villain Dr Evil about him.
For much of that time, Levy has been lambasted, vilified, bombarded with abuse and targeted by protests – although a salary which ended up at £3.7million per year would have helped to ease any hurt.
Finally, it’s time for the anti-Levy mob to put away their placards, because the biggest pantomime villain in the world’s greatest league has finally left the building.
READ DAVE KIDD’S FULL COMMENT PIECE ON LEVY’S LEGACY HERE
“More than that, we have built a community.
“I was lucky enough to work with some of the greatest people in this sport, from the team at Lilywhite House and Hotspur Way to all the players and managers over the years.
“I wish to thank all the fans that have supported me over the years.
“It hasn’t always been an easy journey but significant progress has been made. I will continue to support this club passionately.”
His replacement Charrington added: “I am very honoured to become Non-Executive Chairman of this extraordinary Club.
“And, on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Daniel and his family for their commitment and loyalty to the Club over so many years.
“This is a new era of leadership for the club, on and off the pitch.
“I do recognise there has been a lot of change in recent months as we put in place new foundations for the future.
“We are now fully focused on stability and empowering our talented people across the Club, led by Vinai and his executive team.”
Read the full article here