5 min readNew DelhiMar 23, 2026 08:47 PM IST
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United. In the 2024-’25 Deloitte Football Money League, which lists the highest-revenue clubs in world football annually, these were the top 8 teams. The absolute elite of European football, champions and title contenders of their leagues, and top UEFA Champions League teams in recent years. The team that is placed just behind them at 9th? Tottenham Hotspur.
What’s the current status of Tottenham in PL?
The North London side’s position in that list is jarring, given their current predicament. One of the richest clubs in the world are on the brink of getting relegated from England’s top tier into the first division, The Championship. Home to one of the largest stadia in England with a capacity of 62,850 at the newly built, state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the current Europa League champions are placed 17th in the table on 30 points, out of the relegation zone by a solitary point ahead of another Premier League giant in West Ham United. Their 0-3 thrashing at the hands of fellow relegation battlers Nottingham Forest on Sunday has left Spurs in serious danger of slipping out of the top flight of English football.
What happens when a Premier League team gets relegated?
In simple terms, relegation from the Premier League is a financial nightmare because there is a world of difference in the revenues available between the first and second tiers of English football. While a typically smaller club can handle this a little easier because their expenditure and revenue don’t differ as much as top teams, a club like Tottenham is going to seriously feel the pinch of slipping down.
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According to The Athletic, “there is no precedent in the modern era for a club of Tottenham’s size — the ninth-wealthiest in the world, according to Deloitte, with revenue of €672.6million (£581m, $773m) in 2024-25 — slipping into England’s second tier. Playing Champions League and Championship football in the same calendar year just doesn’t happen.”
Tottenham’s coach Igor Tudor reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest in London, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo)
What is the financial implication of relegation?
An earlier report in The Athletic said that most of Tottenham’s first-team players have mandatory salary reductions included in their contracts and that the vast majority of them ‘would see their earnings slashed by around 50 per cent’ in the event of relegation. “It was a provision factored into all existing agreements struck before Daniel Levy’s departure as executive chairman in September, granting Spurs an element of protection against the doomsday scenario of demotion,” the report said.
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In terms of sheer numbers, here’s how much roughly the cost of relegation can be for a Premier League side, as per the BBC. In the 2024-’25 English football season, the team finishing 20th in the Premier League – Southampton – earned £109.2 million. In contrast, Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United – who were relegated to the Championship from the Premier League that season – earned £49m, which included a fixed basic award amount from the English football revenue pool and parachute payments from the Premier League for their first year of relegation. That’s a difference of roughly £60 million already. And for teams who are in the Championship long term (more than three seasons after relegation) the revenue per season was below £11 million. The BBC says the club could end up losing £ 250 million, with ticket revenue, commercial income and overall broadcast revenue taking a significant hit.
How we stand after Matchweek 31 📊
Thank you to our #PLPrimaryStars who have helped brighten our feeds this weekend! pic.twitter.com/qLobSuwm2W
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 22, 2026
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which hosts high-end musical concerts, NFL matches in England and, in the near future, the Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov fight on April 11, will be shorn of top-level football matches in the event of relegation. As Crystal Palace fans sang in the away end during their recent win at the stadium, “Say hell to Millwall for us”.
What’s the road ahead for Tottenham?
After getting eliminated from UCL after a first-leg thrashing away at Atletico Madrid, Spurs only have Premier League matches left in their season. Their upcoming fixtures are Sunderland (A), Brighton (H), Wolves (A), Aston Villa (A), Leeds (H), Chelsea (A) and finally, Everton (H). Given their current form, it is entirely possible that their only realistic hopes of a sure win is away at Wolves and at home to Leeds, and rest of the fixtures loom large as possible defeats. Their fight to survival is likely to be with West Ham, who face Wolves (H), Crystal Palace (A), Everton (H), Brentford (A), Arsenal (H), Newcastle (A), and Leeds (H). If it goes down to the wire, West Ham have the easier task on the last day of the season.
