Football finance expert Stefan Borson has weighed in on the rumours circulating over a potential Qatari takeover of Tottenham Hotspur and explains how likely such a deal is to happen in the near future.
It would have come as music to the ears of many Spurs fans when it first emerged last week that a group of private investors from Qatar were in talks regarding a full takeover of Tottenham.
This report, which was first carried out by The Guardian, suggested that the prospective investors were looking into a phased buyout of Tottenham.
Even more interestingly, it was claimed that if they are successful in taking over Spurs, they would be willing to retain Daniel Levy on a long-term contract and allow him to continue running the club.
Finance expert reveals if a takeover is likely
However, football finance expert Stefan Borson has now poured cold water over suggestions that a full buyout of Tottenham is imminent, given the huge price tag associated.
He pointed out that only extremely wealthy individuals or consortiums can afford to shell out the nearly £4 billion that Levy and ENIC value the club at.
When asked about an impending Spurs takeover, Borson told Football Insider: “I don’t really think much of the story, to be honest. I think we’ve got to see far more evidence of a deal even being touted. We don’t even have a name of anybody that’s said to be thinking about it.
“Remember, if you’re buying a football club for £3.75 billion, this would have to be at most a 20th of your net assets. You are talking about somebody that’s got net assets maybe of the best part of £100 billion.
“It might be a consortium, but they are saying in that article it’s not state-related. Which consortium has got maybe a net wealth of £100 billion that they can afford to spend the best part of £4 billion on Tottenham? It’s pretty unlikely.”
Qatari state-backed takeover could be on the cards
As mentioned previously, the updates over the last week have made it clear that the consortium showing interest in buying Tottenham is a group of private Qatari investors rather than a Government-backed entity such as Qatar Sports Investments, who own Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Borson suggests that a move from QSI to buy Spurs is far more likely as they are now looking to move out of Ligue 1.
He added: “There are strong rumours that there are problems in France with the Qataris and PSG. If there was a fallout in France and they were looking for a new club outside of the French league, then of course Tottenham would be an amazing acquisition.
“But I think it would be via QSI as opposed to via some individuals. But again, it’s just total speculation.”