If Tottenham fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, it will hit their players where it hurts most – in their pockets.
That is because they will face a loss of wages and bonuses is they miss out, the result of an incentivised pay structure introduced at the club by Chairman Daniel Levy. Under the scheme players are rewarded for success, but penalised if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, protecting the club financially.
Spurs have had an indifferent start to the season in the league, with Saturday’s defeat at Brighton leaving them ninth. They have also had a terrible time in the cup competitions, dumped out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Colchester United, and thrashed at home by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
They have finished in the top four for the past four seasons, but may have their work cut out if they are to do so again.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.