Tottenham Hotspur stars face a huge slash in wages if Roberto De Zerbi’s side fail to secure Champions League football this season.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that missing out on the competition would feel like a “mini-relegation” for the players.
The Lilywhites have splashed close to £300million following Savinho’s arrival, with the winger joining Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke.
In addition to multiple free transfers, De Zerbi is unlikely to be done in the summer market just yet. Omar Marmoush is yet to be announced.
Despite all of this money being spent, Spurs kicked off the 2026-27 Premier League season with a damning 3-0 defeat to Brentford on Saturday, 22 August.
After just one game, Spurs are sitting 19th in the table, but there will be plenty of time for De Zerbi to get things right at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘Missing out on the Champions League is like a relegation’
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson explained the extreme ramifications of missing out on Europe’s most prestigious competition.
“There’s five places, maybe four, but probably five [in the Premier League table], and there’s a lot of competition for them,” he said.
“Them missing out on the Champions League is like a relegation, like a mini-relegation. It’s got that kind of financial impact.
“It’s mitigated slightly because you don’t have the cost of Champions League, you don’t have the wages that some players have for Champions League qualification.
“It’s probably not quite as bad as as relegation. But with relegation, if you get relegated, you also cut the wages of the players. Look, they’re going for it.
“The only strategic move that Spurs had to change was to spend more money on players and wages. That was it. This is what they were always going to do.”
Whose futures are on the line after Brentford vs Tottenham?
Supporters, understandably, were incredibly frustrated by their team’s display against the Bees, and it could have even been four.
Igor Thiago missed from the penalty spot after a clumsy foul in the area by Rodrigo Bentancur, who could already struggle for game time this season.
Lucas Bergvall was fairly criticised for his role in the defeat, making a key error in the lead-up to one of the goals, while Archie Gray had to feature out of position.
And Richarlison simply isn’t good enough to lead the line, nor is Dominic Solanke, hence the late interest in Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta.
