Joey Barton says Tottenham are being managed sensibly but other clubs risk financial implosion.
Footballer turned pundit Joey Barton has hailed Tottenham Hotspur’s sensible financial approach to the market, and warned their rival clubs.
Barton believes Tottenham’s Premier League rivals risk ending up in dire financial straits if they carry on spending at this current rate, and believe they could even end up in the same situation as Leeds United.
Speaking to Talksport, Barton said: “This is an unsustainable business model. We are living in a very irrational time – certainly when it comes to players’ wages and transfers.
I think the sides that are playing with fire – as Leeds United have shown in the past on a lesser scale – you can very quickly when the tide comes out find out who’s got trunks on and who hasn’t.
“I think Daniel Levy is trying to maintain Spurs’ trunks. They are going to, hopefully, be sitting in the position where everyone around them has lost their heads.”
Leeds went from competing in the Champions League semi-finals in 2000/01 to competing in England’s third tier in under a decade, and while they are back in the Championship, they have not come close to returning to the Premier League let alone European football.
Tottenham are the only Premier League team yet to spend any money on players this transfer window, while rival clubs have spent a combined £1 billion.
Leeds are an extreme case, and the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea, backed by super rich investors, have been splashing out for years.
A financial implosion like Leeds suffered may never be seen again at the top level, but the point Barton makes is that the types of figures being spent makes this unchartered waters, and if the television money suddenly disappears or outside market forces affect the football world, clubs like Tottenham who have acted prudently will be better placed to ride the storm.
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