(Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur are not in negotiations with any bidders over a potential takeover of the Premier League club, chairman Daniel Levy has said.
Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, chair of MSP Sports Capital, was reported to be preparing a $3.75 billion takeover bid for Spurs in February.
Tottenham exited the FA Cup and Champions League last month, meaning their 15-year trophy drought continues and Levy has found himself targeted by a section of fans at home games.
“ENIC (Group) owns approximately 87% of the club. We have 30,000 shareholders and most of them are fans who own the shares,” Levy told the Cambridge Union in a wide-ranging interview released on YouTube on Wednesday.
“We have a duty to consider any proposal anyone wants to make. All I would say is we are not in negotiations with anybody. Nor have we been in recent months and all the stuff in the newspapers is completely untrue.”
The north London side, who last won silverware in 2008 when they lifted the League Cup, are in fifth spot on 53 points after 31 games, three points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United who have a game in hand and host Spurs on Sunday.
Levy, 61, added that he hoped supporters would see him as someone who always acted in Tottenham’s best interests.
“I’ve given a large proportion of my working life to the club and I think the club is in a better place than when I first got involved,” he said.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
