Daniel Levy steps down as Tottenham chairman after divisive 25-year tenure

Daniel Levy has stepped down as executive chairman of Tottenham Hotspur after nearly 25 years in charge, the Premier League club confirmed on Thursday. Levy, who became Spurs chairman in December 2000 after purchasing a stake from Lord Alan Sugar, was the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League. His departure has fuelled renewed speculation that the Lewis family could be preparing the club for a potential sale - a prospect that has long been rumoured.

During his time at the helm, Levy oversaw the building of a state-of-the-art training complex and the 1 billion Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He also appointed Thomas Frank as the new men's manager and Martin Ho to lead the women's side this summer, following the departures of Ange Postecoglou and Robert Vilahamn respectively.

On the pitch, Tottenham lifted the League Cup and the Europa League in May, while their most high-profile moment came under Mauricio Pochettino when they reached the Champions League final in 2019. Yet, Levy faced frequent criticism from supporters for what they perceived as a lack of ambition and investment in transfers, with regular fan protests against both him and ENIC Group, which also owns a significant stake in the club.

In a statement, Levy said: "I am incredibly proud of the work I have done together with the executive team and all our employees. We have built this club into a global heavyweight competing at the highest level. More than that, we have built a community. I was lucky enough to work with some of the greatest people in this sport, from the team at Lilywhite House and Hotspur Way to all the players and managers over the years. I wish to thank all the fans that have supported me over the years. It hasn't always been an easy journey but significant progress has been made. I will continue to support this club passionately."

The club confirmed recent boardroom changes, with Vinai Venkatesham hired as Chief Executive Officer and Peter Charrington appointed as non-executive chairman.

A Tottenham statement read: "This is all part of the club's ambition to ensure that it is set up to deliver long-term sporting success... There are no changes to the ownership or shareholder structure of the club." Levy, 63, had addressed supporter unrest as recently as August in an interview with The Overlap. He admitted he expected his work to be appreciated only after he had stepped away.

"When I'm not here, I'm sure I'll get the credit. When you come here and look at this wonderful building - and the fact that other clubs are trying to copy what we're doing - it should be a sign that we did something a bit bold and right. Of course [fan unrest] hurts, but their pain is also my pain. I want to win and when we're not playing well and not winning, believe me - I suffer as well.

It ruins my whole weekend. It's horrible. You're in this to win. When you don't win, it's not fun."

Accused by some of interfering too heavily in footballing matters, Levy defended his record, insisting that decisions about players were left to coaches and technical staff.

"I would say that's completely unfair. People who have worked in this club and understand the workings of the football side of this club, I do not interfere at all in the decision-making of this player versus that player. It is always the coach and the technical staff. The only way I get involved is when they decide which player they want to buy or sell, I will go out and do my very best for this football club. But I'm not interfering in the football decisions."

"It's not different from any other club. It's not just me, it's a board. When we went through the decision to appoint Thomas, there were a number of people involved, in which I was just one of them."