Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy has overseen the transformation of Spurs from a mid-table club to Champions League regulars during his time at the helm.
Spurs are often described as one of the best-run football clubs in the country and Levy is a big reason behind that. The 57-year-old has proven his negotiating prowess in the player contracts and sponsorship deals he has signed over the best part of the last two decades.
However, Levy is arguably best known for his ability to ensure Tottenham get everything they possibly can when it comes to transfers.
Now former Dinamo Zagreb executive director Zdravko Mamic has claimed that Levy is the most capable negotiator in the world.
Mamic, who is currently on the run from Croatian authorities after being found guilty of transfer fraud, narrated the stories of two negotiations that he has had with the Spurs chairman, and he provided some great insight into how Levy is careful with every penny of the club’s money.
Speaking to this month’s edition of FourFourTwo magazine (as relayed by Football.London), Mamic said, “Levy is, in my opinion, the most capable negotiator in the world. I had enough time to experience it and appreciate him.
“One funny story, but at the same time a story that shows how he protects the interests of his club, is that after we agreed the transfer of Luke to Tottenham, I politely asked for five of Luka’s jerseys,” claimed the controversial Croatian.
“Levy gave them to me. but the invoice for the transfer, €23m (£20.3m), was minus the value of the jerseys. That was quite unbelievable to me. It showed me how to appreciate every penny a club spends.
“I also negotiated the transfer of Allen Halilovic and Tin Jedwaj to Tottenham. My son was their agent and translator. We were sitting in Levy’s office, and sporting director Franco Baldini was there.
“They offered 10 million euros (£8.8m) and the secretary brought us tea. I told my son to thank Levy and to ask if I should have tea or go home.
“My son didn’t want to translate that. Levy and Baldini realized that I was getting a little more aggressive and then I told them “you go all **** ** mother!”.
“After that, we continued the negotiations and agreed on a compensation of 25 million euros (£22m). Unfortunately, the transfer failed due to the insane demands of Halilovic’s family.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While some Spurs fans have become annoyed with Daniel Levy and ENIC over recent years due to their unwillingness to spend big, we have to admit that what Levy has done at Tottenham is nothing short of remarkable. The new stadium has now sealed Tottenham’s status as a European footballing superpower and will allow us to compete financially with the biggest clubs in the continent, in a few years time.
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