‘Didn’t look at the small print’ – Harry Redknapp makes Daniel Levy contract admission

Harry Redknapp has admitted that he made a mistake not reading through the full terms of his contract with Tottenham before signing it when he became the North Londoners’ boss.

Levy has a reputation of being a ruthless negotiator, who fights to save every penny when negotiating contracts and player transfers.

It turns out that the Tottenham chairman was no different when Redknapp first arrived at the club from Portsmouth in 2008.

The Lilywhites had a disastrous start to the 2008-09 season and they were sitting at the bottom of the table with just two points from eight matches when Redknapp replaced Juande Ramos at the helm.

Not only did the 73-year-old guide the team a respectable eighth-place finish that season but Tottenham also managed two top-four finishes during his three full seasons in charge.

However, it turns out that Redknapp learned when he was sacked by Levy in 2012 that he was only due a modest compensation in comparison to the substantial amount the FA would have had to pay Spurs had they appointed him as the next England boss.

The former Spurs boss told on his self-titled podcast: “I think I was 10/1 on favourite, there was only me and Roy Hodgson in the running [for the England job]. Everyone said you’re a certainty to get the job.

“Looking back on it, and whether this was the reason I really don’t know, but when I went to Tottenham I didn’t have an agent and I signed a contract, where I didn’t look at the small print.

“All I look at was that they were going to pay me x amount a week, they’re going to pay me x amount if we make it into European competition and then bonuses.

“But what was in there was that if I left the club there was a compensation of £16 million. £5 million which they paid Portsmouth, plus all the wages that I earned at Tottenham.

“If they sacked me, they had to give me £1 million. Daniel gave me a contract really, which was just… and I just signed it.

“I thought ‘oh he’s giving me x amount a week, lovely’ and I just signed it.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Rather than demonstrating Levy’s cunning negotiating skills, this story from Redknapp only shows his own naivety. Even if he did not have an agent, the former Spurs boss must have been smarter than to put pen to paper on a contract without reading through it, particularly if it is offered by someone like Levy.

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