Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has jumped to the defence of Daniel Levy’s eye-watering £6million pay packet.
After Spurs recorded record revenues for 2016-17, it emerged Levy’s rise has seen him become the Premier League’s best-paid chairman.
The lucrative figure earned, which includes backdated pay rises and bonuses following a remuneration committee review, exceeds what Pochettino’s earns.
Significantly, Levy’s weekly wage of £115,000 also eclipses the basic salary of England star Harry Kane. The irony has not been lost on Tottenham fans, who have questioned the huge figure taken home by Levy.
Levy, renowned as one the game’s toughest negotiators, refuses to match what his rivals are prepared to pay on wages. Defender Toby Alderweireld is also locked in a contract stand-off with the club as he eyed a pay hike.
“I think if what he achieved is true, then well done and I think it’s deserved,” said Pochettino. “Because he is working so hard for the club. He’s doing a fantastic job for 16, 17 years. We need to understand that Tottenham Hotspur is a company that provides football like an entertainment.
“If one agent from one transaction can earn a lot of money to be in the middle between two clubs, then for people like our chairman, it’s normal that [they get paid a lot of money.]
“They are delivering a great job for this company. But I’m happy with my salary. I’m not comparing my salary with any others.
“And the players are not concerned about that. What I hear or what I can feel, because i didn’t talk with the players, it’s not a point to discuss.
“This business, the principle actors are the players. We have to push the big cake onto the players.”
Levy‘s reward is likely to have included Tottenham moving into their new stadium on time for next season.
But whether Alderweireld will be running out there remains to be seen.
Pochettino showed his ruthless streak last season with Kyle Walker, proving he is not prepared to indulge a player with his mind already set on leaving.
Alderwiereld’s case appears to mirror Walker’s and he is even battling to be named among the substitutes for Saturday’s trip to Stoke.
The Belgium defender Alderweireld, 29, has played only twice for Tottenham in the FA Cup since returning in February after three months out with a hamstring injury.
“I don’t care about the personal situation with the club,“ added Pochettino. “If they are happy or not happy. If they show me they deserve to play, they are going to play. Always my decision is about what is best for the team and the best for the club. Of course Toby was an important player for us in the last two seasons.
“Then he got the injury that he got and players like Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen stepped up and then you have got to deserve to play. If we are happy with the players who are playing, you need to wait.”
Fresh from ending their 28-year hoodoo by winning at Chelsea, Spurs can take another big step towards reaching next season’s Champions League with another win against the Potters.
“If you don’t prepare yourself to compete again you can struggle,” added Pochettino. “We have to match them in the same motivation and the same hunger. Three points for them is massive – but massive for us too to to finish in the top four.”
(The Independent)
