Tottenham backed to slash wages by £156m: Championship could force hard financial reset
Football finance expert Stefan Borsen expects Tottenham Hotspur to be forced into some tough wage decisions this summer if they get relegated.
The Spurs hierarchy have now made their final throw of the dice in their attempts to secure the club’s Premier League status, handing Roberto De Zerbi a five-year contract.
De Zerbi has said he will be in charge of Spurs even if they are in the Championship next term, but he and the club’s leadership will be desperately hoping it does not come to that.
One financial expert sees major difficulties ahead for the Lilywhites if they do fail to stay in the top-flight.
Tottenham will have to significantly reduce their wage bill if they are relegated
According to reports, Daniel Levy inserted a relegation clause in every Tottenham player’s contract, which will see many of their salaries cut down by as much as 50 per cent if the club goes down.
However, despite this, Borson believes that Spurs will have to get rid of many of their high earners if they find themselves in the Championship. Last season, Tottenham paid £256m in player wages.
He told Football Insider: “We know there are relegation clauses that mean that the wages are lower. The question then is what players are going to leave and where does the wage bill go? I would think they’ll try and get the wage bill down to let’s say £100m.
“That is still ample to get out of the Championship. But of course, it looks very different from what they have today. A lot of their better players, or the players they perceive to be the better players probably will leave.”
| Player | Position | Country | Annual Salary | Weekly Salary |
| Cristian Romero | Defender | Argentina | £10,140,00 | £195,000 |
| Xavi Simons | Midfielder | Netherlands | £10,140,00 | £195,000 |
| James Maddison | Midfielder | England | £8,840,000 | £170,000 |
| Conor Gallagher | Midfielder | England | £8,320,000 | £160,000 |
| Randal Kolo Muani | Forward | France | £7,800,000 | £150,000 |
| Mohammed Kudus | Midfielder | Ghana | £7,800,000 | £150,000 |
| Dominic Solanke | Forward | England | £7,280,000 | £140,000 |
| Joao Palhinha | Midfielder | Portugal | £7,020,000 | £135,000 |
| Dejan Kulusevski | Forward | Sweden | £5,720,000 | £110,000 |
| Richarlison | Forward | Brazil | £4,680,000 | £90,000 |
| Micky van de Ven | Defender | Netherlands | £4,680,000 | £90,000 |
| Radu Dragusin | Defender | Romania | £4,420,000 | £85,000 |
| Pedro Porro | Defender | Spain | £4,420,000 | £85,000 |
| Ben Davies | Defender | Wales | £4,160,000 | £80,000 |
| Rodrigo Bentancur | Midfielder | Uruguay | £3,900,000 | £75,000 |
| Archie Gray | Midfielder | England | £3,900,000 | £75,000 |
| Destiny Udogie | Defender | Italy | £3,900,000 | £75,000 |
| Guglielmo Vicario | Goalkeeper | Italy | £3,900,000 | £75,000 |
| Pape Matar Sarr | Midfielder | Senegal | £3,640,000 | £70,000 |
| Kevin Danso | Defender | Austria | £3,380,000 | £65,000 |
| Lucas Bergvall | Midfielder | Sweden | £3,120,000 | £60,000 |
| Mathys Tel | Forward | France | £2,860,000 | £55,000 |
| Yves Bissouma | Midfielder | Mali | £2,860,000 | £55,000 |
| Wilson Odobert | Midfielder | France | £2,080,000 | £40,000 |
| Djed Spence | Defender | England | £2,080,000 | £40,000 |
| Antonin Kinsky | Goalkee[er | Czechia | £1,560,000 | £30,000 |
| Souza | Defender | Brazil | £1,300,000 | £25,000 |
| Brandon Austin | Goalkeeper | England | £780,000 | £15,000 |
Spurs expected to face a major drop in matchday income if they get relegated
Tottenham’s commercial and broadcast income will take a big hit if they are no longer in the Premier League, and Borsen has now said that matchday income will also be significantly reduced.
He believes the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will have to operate at a reduced capacity in the Championship if the ticket prices do not drop drastically.
Borson added: “There will be more home games because you’re in the Championship, so it’s 23 home games, but Lincoln City are a team likely to be in the Championship next season.
“With the best will in the world, you are very unlikely to sell out 62,000 seats, plus all that corporate hospitality at the stadium, for a home game against Lincoln City. You’re just not going to.
“If you do sell it out, your price point is going to have to be lower, so a lot of it will depend on whether Spurs hit the ground running with a very exciting team winning a lot of matches with a much lower cost base.”
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