Tottenham takeover bids: Vinai Venkatesham delivers emphatic response after exit of "extraordinary" Daniel Levy

Tottenham Hotspur CEO Vinai Venkatesham has delivered an emphatic response to claims that the Lilywhites could soon be the subject of a takeover following Daniel Levy's exit.

Last Thursday, the Premier League landscape was rocked by the news that Levy was no longer executive chairman of Spurs, bringing an end to the businessman's 24 years at the North London helm.

In that time, Levy helped transform Tottenham from a mid-table club into genuine Premier League title challengers, Champions League finalists and Europa League winners, not to mention overseeing the rise of Harry Kane under Mauricio Pochettino.

However, Levy was frequently the subject of fierce protests from fans over a perceived lack of spending in the transfer market, as well as limited on-field success in the shape of trophies, as Spurs endured a 17-year dry spell between the 2008 EFL Cup and 2025 Europa League.

At first, it was claimed that the 63-year-old had voluntarily stepped down from his position, although he is now believed to have been removed from power, as the powers-that-be aim to take the team to an even higher level.

Venkatesham: 'Tottenham are not for sale'

"Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale." ?️

Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham addresses the latest rumours surrounding a possible takeover of the club.

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— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 8, 2025

Shortly after Levy's shock departure, rumours began to swirl of a possible takeover at Tottenham, who revealed on Sunday that there had been two expressions of "preliminary interest" which were quickly rejected.

PCP International Finance Limited - led by former Newcastle United director Amanda Staveley - are confirmed to have been one of the parties involved, as well as Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng's Chinese consortium through Firehawk Holdings Limited.

Following Spurs' statement, Venkatesham has now come out and publicly ruled out ENIC selling the club, saying in an interview with club media: "I’ve seen that [takeover speculation] very quickly.

"As you say, there's been a lot of newspaper articles and a lot of media speculation about a takeover, so I can be really clear on this. The Lewis family are really clear.

"They see their involvement in Tottenham Hotspur being long-term, and they see their involvement continuing through the generations. We made a statement very late last night, and the statement I hope was unambiguously clear that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale."

Venkatesham hails Levy's "extraordinary" work with Tottenham

Prior to discussing the takeover talk, Venkatesham delivered a powerful tribute to former colleague Levy, whose "extraordinary" legacy and "wonderful" internal support was highlighted by the ex-Arsenal chief.

"He has played a huge part in the transformation of the Club, and there are so many examples – the training centre, the stadium, the media centre that we’re just sitting outside now… his contribution is there for all to see, and I think his legacy really is extraordinary," Venkatesham added.

"For me personally, obviously, I was expecting that I was going to be working with Daniel for many years. It’s ended up only being a few months, but he has been a wonderful support and counsel to me during that period, and I feel really settled in.

"I think also at a time like this, it's really natural to pause and look back and reflect, but I also know in my job, it's really important to look forward. And this is a new era for the Club under new leadership, completely backed by our majority shareholder, the Lewis family, so we can feel optimistic and ambitious for the future as well."

Tottenham are back in action away to West Ham United on Saturday evening following the international break, and Thomas Frank has been handed a long-awaited injury boost ahead of the return of Premier League football.