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Daniel Levy’s new-look board has ‘already pledged £300m’ in transfer fees as Donna-Maria Cullen quits Tottenham

Adam Williams

Mon 2 June 2025 20:15, UK

It’s all change at Tottenham. For now, manager Ange Postecoglou and chief football officer Scott Munn remain in situ, but they might not last the summer. In April, Spurs named Vinai Venkatesham as their new CEO. Now, a long-standing confidant of Daniel Levy, Donna-Maria Cullen, has stepped down.

It is a fitting time for change. Tottenham had an abysmal season in the Premier League, masked by a historic Europa League final victory over a Manchester United who have somehow contrived to be even more woeful than the North London club.

When protests against Daniel Levy and ENIC’s ownership of the club peaked in mid-season, it was almost unthinkable that the campaign could have ended with such unbridled joy in Bilbao.

But the best owners in football finance make dispassionate decisions. That may well mean that, despite the fans’ feelings towards the manager, Ange Postecoglou could be dismissed. Indeed, the club are sounding out replacements, with Brentford’s Thomas Frank the frontrunner for the Spurs job.

Fabio Paratici is set to return to Tottenham after serving a 30-month ban from football, though in exactly what capacity isn’t clear. It seems likely, however, that the Italian former managing director of football will have a major steer as far as recruitment is concerned.

Today, Donna-Maria Cullen has quit Spurs, where she has been on the board of directors since 2006. She has effectively acted as Levy’s consigliere in that time and was instrumental to the transformative decision to build their world-class new stadium.

Her departure, alongside the arrival of former Arsenal executive Venkatesham, is the clearest signal of a changing of the guard behind the scenes. But, after a net spend of well over £200m in the last two seasons, do Spurs have the resources to refresh the squad too?

Spurs’ ability to compete in the transfer market would have been severely limited had they lost the Europa League final and missed out on the unlikeliest of backdoor Champions League qualifications.

However, with that extra revenue locked in and solid underlying business figures, University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire has told TBR Football that there is now more breathing space.

• READ MORE: Tottenham now want to sign £50m Premier League defender who could be their next Micky van de Ven

New Spurs board must be wary of £337m transfer debt, says Kieran Maguire, but Champions League cash is a lifeline

Until 2022, ENIC had barely put a penny into Spurs. The club instead operated on a self-sufficient business model. The revenues from the stadium, which are £100m-plus every year, and ever-rising commercial income were crucial here.

However, in May of that year, the owners issued £150m worth of new shares. They followed that up with a similar cash injection of £35m in January 2025, signalling that revenues alone were not high enough to cover running costs.

The highest of those costs are the wage bill and transfer instalments. In that latter category in particular, it looked like Spurs had overstretched themselves.

“From a PSR perspective, Spurs were already in a very strong position,” explains Maguire.

“Although they had substantial losses in the last couple of years, by the time you add back the depreciation on the stadium, you get back £210m over the last three years. You also have the academy, which Spurs invest a lot in.

“So Spurs are in a very strong position in terms of their PSR capacity, but the other issue is cash. The current iteration of the board have used the club credit card to recruit players in recent years and they already pledged £300m in outstanding transfer fees. That, for me, is always going to be more of an issue.

“If they had lost against Man United in the Europa League final, what would they have to offer? They don’t pay bigger wages than the other clubs and they wouldn’t have been in Europe. If I’m a top player, what’s the attraction for me?

“So I think the fact they now have Champions League football means there will be a reset in the sense that there will be a lot more cash. They will get a portion of that cash relatively early. UEFA primes the pump with immediate payment. So there’s a big cash bonus there. That can only be good for the new executive team.

“There’s also a much higher revenue ceiling next year. If everything falls into place, you’re looking at £160-180m from the Champions League. They have the best stadium in the country and the opportunity to sell at dynamic prices.

“We saw Villa charge £97 when Bayern Munich came to town – if Spurs get a couple of big names in the league phase, expect the ticket prices to reflect the prestige of the game, especially in the corporate hospitality section.

“Spurs are in a very strong position, though I think the overhang with the transfer debt was going under the radar. Historically, they have not wanted to borrow for working capital purposes and there has been reluctance from the owners to put more money into the club.“

• READ MORE: Tottenham ready to pay more money than Arsenal to sign attacking star who Harry Kane called ‘terrifying’

Tottenham’s UEFA Super Cup clash with Paris Saint-Germain could be chance for Qatari investment talks

The main financial benefit of winning the Europa League is, of course, next season’s Champions League revenue.

But Spurs have also qualified for the UEFA Super Cup, where they will split a £7.5m prize pot with Paris Saint-Germain, who stormed to a first-ever Champions League title with a 5-0 win over Inter Milan last Saturday.

Incidentally, the fixture – which is set to be played at Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy on 13 August – will also be a chance for Levy to again meet with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).

QSI have been linked with investing in Spurs in recent years. Levy has met with Al-Khelaifi, reportedly to discuss a potential minority equity deal, though the club maintains their discussions have been centred on European Club Association business, the organisation which Al-Khelaifi chairs.

Levy has been explicit about the fact that he is seeking outside investment to take Spurs to the next level, and the Qataris were said to be considering their future at PSG earlier this year.

However, exactly what impact Champions League glory will have on that position is not clear.