Composite image of Liverpool and Tottenham owners John Henry and Daniel Levy Photos by Michael Regan/David Roges, Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Gett...

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Liverpool owners FSG force Daniel Levy’s hand at Tottenham, £106m U-turn officially announced

Adam Williams

Mon 17 March 2025 17:30, UK

Football is financially dysfunctional – for most clubs, the numbers simply don’t stack up. But Liverpool and Tottenham are outliers, with FSG and Daniel Levy priding sustainability above all else.

ENIC and Fenway Sports Group are the most conservative owners in the so-called ‘Big Six’. In the commercial department and the transfer market, they prioritise value and eschew risk

Daniel Levy, John Henry and their various deputies in their respective clubs’ ownership regimes have had the best return on investment of any Premier League side in recent years as a result.

Neither ENIC nor FSG take money out of Spurs or Liverpool besides relatively modest management fees, but soaring commercial, matchday and m♋edia income has seen both clubs’ enterprise values explode.

Wꩵhen they one day sell up, as is the plan under their capital appreciation models, it will be at an astonishing markup oꦚn the paltry £90m and £300m they paid in 2001 and 2010 respectively.

On the pitch, of course, this shared approach has yielded wildly differe🌄nt 🎃results.

Liverpool missed out on their first silverware of the season with defeat to Newcastle United in the League Cup fin꧟al on Sunday but will be Premier League for the second time under FSG in a matter ༒of weeks.

Tottenham lost 2-0 to Fulham earlier in🏅 the day and are 14th in the league table. Since they last won a trophy in 2008, FSG-owned Liverpool have wo꧂n eight.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	29	21	7	1	69	27	42	70
2	ArsenalArsenal	29	16	10	3	53	24	29	58
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	29	16	6	7	49	35	14	54
4	ChelseaChelsea	29	14	7	8	53	37	16	49
5	Man CityManchester City	29	14	6	9	55	40	15	48
6	NewcastleNewcastle	28	14	5	9	47	38	9	47
7	BrightonBrighton	29	12	11	6	48	42	6	47
8	FulhamFulham	29	12	9	8	43	38	5	45
9	Aston VillaAston Villa	29	12	9	8	41	45	-4	45
10	B’mouthBournemouth	29	12	8	9	48	36	12	44
11	BrentfordBrentford	29	12	5	12	50	45	5	41
12	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	28	10	9	9	36	33	3	39
13	Man UtdManchester United	29	10	7	12	37	40	-3	37
14	TottenhamTottenham	29	10	4	15	55	43	12	34

Spurs’ malaise is of course taking place against the backdrop of Daniel Levy’s attempts to secure fresh investment, either ಌin the form of a full or partial takeo༺ver.

This is a process FSG have already undergone at Anfield, selling a three per cent stake in the clꦯub to Dynasty Equity in September 2023 for £127m.

That deal valued Liverpool at over £4bn, which is a slight uptick on Levy’s £3.75bn appraisal of Tottenham.

How do FSG and ENIC justify those valuations? Their clubs’ ineffable ‘brands’ and their ability to sell products, media deals and sponsorships is significant, but so too is old-fashioned brick🐻s-and-mortar.

Tottenham have what is considered the world’s best 🥂football stadium, though Manchester United could soon sn🐭atch that crown.

Matc﷽hday income is worth £100m-plus even 🍃in a bad year and the various non-football events they host year-round have helped Spurs triple their commercial income since the move from White Hart Lane.

Liverpool meanwhile have gradually increased capacity at Anfield, from around 40,000 when FSG took over from Tom Hicks and Geor𓆉ge Gillett 𝔉to 61,000 in 2024-25.

Like Spurs, cash🌄 through the turnstiles and commercial income has soared in correlation as the stadium has expanded.

Coupled with the Premier League’s extraordinary TV deal and a discipline in terms of🌌 costs that has been in short supply at most clubs, these developments have sent enterprise value strato��spheric in L4 and N17.

But there has been full-throated resistance to꧑ the rising cost of supporting their teams from fans at times, though Spurs and Liverpool are hardly unique in this de⭕partment.

Now, it a☂ppears that the pushbaꦰck has got to both boardrooms.

• READ MORE: ‘The train has left the station’ as F𒉰SG approve £4bn-valued Liverpool deal, UEFA talks key says finance expert

Tottenham respond to Liverpool’s ticket price freeze

There is a herding mental🅘ity in Premier League ownership regimes, with the ‘Big Six’ in particular driving the agenda at many shareholde𒉰r meetings.

That was seen in microcosm when Liverpool announced in mid-February that they were freezing season ticket and general admission prices for⛦ 2025-26.

Fans have staged several protests against rising ticket prices, while groups like Spiriဣt of Shankly and the Stop Exploiting Loyalty campaign have repeatedly raised the issue in o♊fficial channels.

Liverpool earned almost £114m in matchday incom♛e last season, while Spurs banked roughly £106m.

The mood music among football finance and business professionals canvassed by TBR Football was that Liverpool’s decision to pause rising prices would 🌞force other clubs to do the same.

And sure enough, West Ham, who🐷se fans have also done exceptional work in their protests against rising prices and the phasing out of concessionary rates, followed suit a fortnight later.

Now, 🌼Spurs, who have also faced major protests relating to concessions pricing and the🅺 general expense of the matchday experience at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, have also frozen their prices.

In truth, it would have been the hardest of hard sells to justify an increase in prices given the season they are h𒐪aving under Ange Postꦕecoglou.

But the club’s decision to back down over ticket prices is testament to the collective action of supporters and🤡 the collaborative approach to the issue between rival f♋anbases.

Increasingly, elite clꦡubs are be🐬coming less reliant on general admission ticket sales anyway, with corporate hospitality now the biggest ticket in town.

There is less resistance to higher prices in that market. Some clubs are now charging tens of thousands of pounds for sea🌳son tickets in the most exclusive are♌as of their stadiums.

Food and drinks is a far bigger revenue driver tha🐼n it has been historically too, with Tottenham able to make almost £1m per match from refreshments alone.

• READ MORE: Jꦺamie Carragher says he really wants Liverpool to sign £8m player from Aston Villa

Liverpool’s multi-club plans: Who will FSG take over next?

In oܫther news, FSG have reportedly whittled down their shortlist of potential takeover targets to four.

Having re-appointed Michael Edwards to oversee a multi-club empire last summer, Live💮rpool are bꦕig admirers of the type of model employed by Manchester City and Red Bull.

But after a deal to acquire historic French side Bordeaux fell through last summer, there have been few specific updates on the progres💙s of the multi-club project.

“If there is one club that does its homework before it makes a decision, it’s Liverpool,” says Kieran Maguire, a lecturer in football finance at Liverpool University, speaking exclusively to TBR Football.

“They will be looking at a variety of clubs if♑ they decide to go through with this model.

“Equally, if Li꧟verpool have found out that a multi-sport model is perhaps just as lucrative, they have got so much skill and knowledge across a variety of sporting entities.

“They are able to make practically 🌠all of them successful – both on and off the pitch. It could be that they ju✤st want to focus on Liverpool as their main football investment.

🦂“But they will have considered other options in terms of the European market and the benefits that brings as well.”