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LONDON: Daniel Levy has stepped down as Tottenham chairman, the club announced Thursday, ending the nearly 25-year tenure of a divisive figure known for keeping the Premier League team profitable but being unable to turn it into a trophy-winning force.
The 63-year-old Levy, who was the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League, said he has left his role with Tottenham now a “global heavyweight competing at the highest level.”
“It hasn’t always been an easy journey,” Levy said, “but significant progress has been made. I will continue to support this club passionately.”
Levy’s departure comes several months after Tottenham ended a 17-year trophy drought by beating Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final. It was the first major title for Spurs since they won the English League Cup in 2008, and first European triumph since they won the UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — for the second time in 1984.
Known as a fierce and uncompromising negotiator in the transfer market, Levy also was accused by many Tottenham fans of chasing profits over silverware in failing to fully back some of the most high-profile managers in soccer that he employed in recent years, such as Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
There were protests against his tenure last season, when Tottenham finished 17th in the Premier League — one place above the bottom three — despite the club being among the so-called “Big Six” in English soccer and owning one of the best stadiums in world soccer.
Levy oversaw the move from White Hart Lane to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, their home since 2019 and now a venue for concerts and other sporting events like boxing and NFL.
Tottenham said there would be “no changes to the ownership or shareholder structure of the club” in light of the departure of Levy, who reportedly owns around 30 percent of the share capital of ENIC, the club’s majority owner.
Peter Charrington has become non-executive chairman, and he thanked Levy and his family for “their commitment and loyalty to the club over so many years.”

MONZA, Italy: As if a first Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari isn’t incentive enough this weekend, Lewis Hamilton says he has extra motivation for his first time in red at the iconic Monza track.
A disastrous Dutch Grand Prix last weekend for both Hamilton and Ferrari culminated in the seven-time world champion being handed a five-place grid penalty — to be served at Monza — for failing to slow down enough while driving to the grid before the race.
“I landed back home and then saw that I got this penalty and I was really, really shocked,” Hamilton said Thursday.
“To get the penalty and get (license) penalty points was pretty hard core, but I’m over it, there’s no point moaning about it, I’ve just got to move forward.”
However, that has only served to spur him on even more as Hamilton prepares to race at the Temple of Speed for the 19th time but a first with the Italian Scuderia.
“It’s going to be challenging this weekend,” Hamilton added. “Qualifying is already… it’s already so close between us all, so just getting into Q3 is tough, getting into the top five is very, very tough.
“Then, on top of that, to be set back five places is not great when you’re going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari, but in the end it gives me more to fight for and I’m very motivated to make up those places.”
The 40-year-old Hamilton has had a difficult first season with the Italian team. He won a sprint race in China in March and has three fourth-place finishes — including at Imola in May in his first taste of racing in red in Italy — but hasn’t yet reached the podium in a grand prix for Ferrari.
Hamilton hit the wall at the Dutch Grand Prix as both Ferraris failed to finish but he said there were still “loads of positives” to take from the weekend.
The British driver is sixth in the drivers’ championship with 109 points — 200 fewer than leader Oscar Piastri.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” Hamilton said about his start with Ferrari. “Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of the feeling? No, but that’s life.
“I like to think that we’re coming, even though we had a difficult Sunday, we’re coming out on the brighter end of the tunnel.”