A report from The Athletic has revealed that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia have a tense relationship.
The two London clubs have developed a fierce rivalry not just on the field but behind the scenes in the boardroom too.
The sides have rarely dealt with each other in the transfer market, but on occasions, the Blues have instigated battles with Spurs for their own players, as well as shared targets from further afield.
Things between Spurs and Chelsea started to brew back in 2011 when the Blues tested the waters with a move to sign want-away Spurs midfielder Luka Modric.
But the most iconic transfer saga stems back to 2013, when Chelsea pipped Spurs to the signing of Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala, after the Brazilian seemed all but bound for North London.
Both Levy and Granovskaia are the chief operators of their respective clubs’ transfer dealings behind the scenes, and things are reportedly far from smooth between the pair.
The Athletic claim the relationship is rather frosty and any form of communication between them is conducted via email as opposed to face-to-face, or even over the phone.
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Spurs hosted Chelsea on Sunday but were swept aside 3-0 in a contest that saw the visitors turn on the style in the second half.
Levy and Granovskaia were not seen engaging in any conversation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which prompted one source to say:
“What you have is two people in Marina and Daniel who are particularly tough. If you had the two of them negotiating… I don’t think anyone would know which way it’s going to go.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is a rivalry that extends beyond the football pitch, and it is not surprising that the clubs don’t negotiate often, due to how previous encounters have gone. It is a relationship that will always appear to be tense, for as long as the rivalry continues.
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