Qatar eyes £1 billion minority stake in Tottenham Hotspur

The prospect of significant new funds may appeal to Joe Lewis, the multi-billionaire owner of Tottenham. Photo / Getty Images

Qatar has signalled potential interest in taking a stake in Tottenham Hotspur after the nation’s most influential sporting chief met with Daniel Levy. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of Paris Saint-Germain, held talks with the executive chairman last week as the nation weighs up ambitious post-World Cup investment.

Sources close to Levy maintain the pair met only as friends and there were no discussions “regarding equity of the club”. However, other insiders suggested the subject may now be raised as Qatar Sports Investments considers the possibility of a new minority stake at a Premier League club.

An offer worth under £1 billion ($1.9b) for a 25 per cent stake in Tottenham was mooted by industry specialists as an option, with Al-Khelaifi and Levy said to be on good terms. Representatives for Manchester United are also understood to have tested interest at high levels in Qatar in recent months, but the suggestion at this stage is that Spurs would be a more likely prospect.

One source with knowledge of the situation said it was too early to say whether Qatar would now ask for formal talks with Tottenham. However, the insider added that European sport can expect “strategic acquisitions that are going to be quite bold” from QSI in the coming months.

“Over Christmas and New Year, there’s a push from senior levels to really go for it at QSI,” the insider added. “The suggestion that Qatar is going to pack up and leave after the World Cup has always frustrated BeIN (the Qatari-owned broadcaster), QSI and PSG.”

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al Khelaifi attends the Ligue 1 match between PSG and RC Strasbourg at Parc des Princes on December 28, 2022 in Paris. Photo / Getty

Last October, QSI bought a 22 per cent stake of Portugal’s SC Braga for around £90million. But Doha-based sporting investment arm has since set loftier ambitions to rival that of the multi-club UAE ownership at Manchester City. Prior to the World Cup, there had been minimal interest in Premier League investment but it now seems the mood has changed.

Interest would be limited to a minority investment because Uefa remains opposed to the prospect of teams under the same ownership facing each other in European competition. “It might not be Tottenham but it might be,” said the insider over potential interest in Spurs. Al-Khelaifi was said to be acting solely in his role at QSI rather than as head of the European Club Association during the meeting with Levy, who is also a member of the ECA board.

Al-Khelaifi is also known to be in talks with American investors over fresh investment in PSG and BeIN ahead of the World Cup in America in 2026. More than 300 clubs around the world are part of multi-club ownership groups but QSI’s only interests are in PSG and Braga. QSI are looking at football investment opportunities around the world.

Spurs defender Christian Romero (left) playing for Argentina during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final match against France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. Photo / Getty Images

Despite denials from Tottenham that any investment talk has taken place with Levy, the prospect of significant new funds may appeal to Joe Lewis, the multi-billionaire owner. Antonio Conte has consistently pushed for more significant backing to compete at the top of the table. To help cope with his demands, Lewis injected an extra £150 million into the club in May after Enic, the Bahamas-based subsidiary, increased its majority control of the club by about two percentage points.

Analysis: Tottenham is a risk worth taking for Qatar

By Tom Morgan

It is the unique position in which Nasser Al-Khelaifi finds himself in the wake of the Qatar World Cup that makes an investment offer at Tottenham a possibility. Internal meetings since the final in Doha have hardened the nation’s determination to seek out fresh, ambitious football investment within Europe.

Manchester United and Liverpool - both openly seeking new partners - might seem a more obvious fit, but a total buyout is said to be of less interest to Qatar while they protect their outright ownership at PSG. There is, however, keen interest in following the Manchester City multi-club investment model, with a host of minority stakes across Europe and beyond.

Tottenham and France captain Hugo Lloris collects his runners-up medal after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final. Photo / Getty Images

The Premier League is just one option for Qatar’s next move but a stake at Spurs would be as good a fit as any, sources said. Despite denials from the Daniel Levy camp that any investment talks have taken place, Tottenham will have a price in mind should Al-Khelaifi come calling again. As a guide price, Levy was said to have placed a £3.5 billion total price tag on the club when he was last approached by an interested bidder in September 2021.

That fee was branded laughable by some industry experts at the time but, given Chelsea sold for that exact same price by the following spring, Levy will feel his number was in the right ballpark. Clearly the club lacks the trophy-winning pedigree of Chelsea, Liverpool or United, but in terms of overall assets, Tottenham are not far behind.

Antonio Conte remains one of the world’s most sought-after managers; Harry Kane and Son Heung-min would be prized by any club; and there is a world-class stadium that may yet start to earn the club serious money. A naming rights deal is still yet to materialise but talks with Google in the autumn sparked renewed hope that a solution was in sight.

Tottenham and their seemingly endless failure to land silverware is a gamble, but Qatar has big enough pockets to take the risk.