Tottenham Hotspur

Jerry Jones is apparently content owning only one team with a long-held reputation for failing to win titles.

Football London's Alasdair Gold reported Wednesday that "there's nothing" in the unfounded rumors the Dallas Cowboys owner is looking to purchase Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

This isn't the first time Jones has been linked with the possible acquisition of the London-based side. The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare and Jack Pitt-Brooke also reported in April that Tottenham's were exploring at least a partial sale as a way to general significant funds.

The Premier League is the richest soccer league in the world. Deloitte estimated that the revenue of all 20 clubs hit £6.1 billion for the 2022-23 season.

Tottenham in particular will hold a lot of appeal for somebody looking to enter the world of PL club ownership. Spurs ranked eighth in the Deloitte Money League with a total revenue of €631.5 million, which was up 21 percent from the previous year.

Even when the club isn't qualifying for the Champions League, being stationed in London with a relatively new stadium clearly has its advantages.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium might be of particular interest to an NFL owners such as Jones because it continues to be a staging ground for American football games as part of the NFL's International Series. The venue hosted games in back-to-back weeks in October.

Spurs supporters have long lamented the club's prudent transfer policy and would surely welcome a new ownership regime that promised to loosen the purse strings.

Given the Cowboys' fortunes over the three decades, they'll be thankful that Jones isn't answering the call.

Harry Kane reportedly is "increasingly likely" to stay at Tottenham despite the club accepting a massive bid from Bayern Munich.

Sky Sports News relayed the update on Kane after Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian reported Tottenham had accepted a bid of around $110 million from Bayern for the star striker.

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness told German outlet Sport1 (h/t The Guardian) last month the club was confident about landing Kane.

"Harry Kane has clearly signaled in all conversations that his decision stands–and if it stays, then we'll get him, because then Tottenham will have to buckle," Hoeness said.

David Ornstein of The Athletic previously reported that Kane is "known to be enjoying life" with Spurs under new head coach Ange Postecoglou and "has been leaning towards staying" with the club.

Real Madrid was believed to have interest in Kane early in the summer as a potential replacement for Karim Benzema, but the 30-year-old has previously said he's not keen on playing abroad at this point in his career.

Here is what he told Gary Neville of The Overlap podcast (h/t Jonathan Veal of The Independent) in May 2021 regarding moving to another country as part of a larger answer about potentially becoming the all-time leading scorer in Premier League history:

"I guess injuries would be the biggest thing [in stopping me getting the record], obviously I've had injuries, ankle injuries and I haven't had anything that's kept me out for months and months touch wood but I guess for me I think injuries would be, be the biggest thing stopping me.

"Of course there's always the option of maybe moving abroad one day but I don't think that really interests me in the near future."

Bayern Munich is one of the most successful clubs in the world. It has won 11 straight Bundesliga titles dating back to the 2012-13 season and hasn't finished worse than second in league play since 2010-11.

Kane has been a dominant force for Tottenham since joining the club in 2011. He became Spurs' all-time leading scorer in February with his 267th goal in a 1-0 win over Manchester City.

The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner is only 47 goals away from tying Alan Shearer's all-time EPL record of 260.

Despite Kane's individual success, Tottenham hasn't won a league title since 1960-61. It has finished outside the top three in EPL play in each of the past five seasons, including an eighth-place showing in 2022-23.

With Kane potentially staying at Tottenham this season, it opens up the possibility that Spurs could possibly lose their talisman on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Spurs will open the Premier League campaign on Sunday against Brentford.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York announced Tuesday that his office has indicted British billionaire and Tottenham Hotspur majority owner Joe Lewis "for orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme."

Sports broadcaster Ben Jacobs relayed more of Williams' statement:

Joe Miller and Samuel Agini of the Financial Times offered more details, which read in part:

"The 86-year-old, who is one of Britain's richest men, is accused of tipping off employees, associates, friends and romantic interests with non-public information about various entities, and lending some of them hundreds of thousands of dollars to trade on the privileged knowledge.

"According to an indictment that was unsealed on Tuesday, Lewis and his associates were collectively able to make millions of dollars using the stolen information, which included favourable results from clinical trials."

Lewis is the chairman of the Tavistock Group, whose investments number more than 200 companies in 13 countries, per its website.

Per the Financial Times, allegations against Lewis state that he shared information "about publicly traded life science groups Solid Biosciences and Mirati Therapeutics, as well as beef producer Australian Agricultural Company (AAC) and a special purpose acquisition company, BCTG."

Lewis bought a majority stake of Tottenham from Sir Alan Sugar in 2001 for £22 million, per John Besley of the Independent. Per Alex Kay-Jelski of The Athletic, Lewis "ceded official control" of the club to Bryan Glinton and Katie Booth last October.

Bloomberg lists Lewis with a net worth of $6.55 billion.

Tottenham Hotspur announced Sunday that manager Antonio Conte has departed the club by "mutual agreement."

Cristian Stellini will serve as the interim manager, while Ryan Mason will serve as assistant head coach.

"We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place," club chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement. "We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our Club and amazing, loyal supporters."

His fate seemed to be sealed after a rant following a 3-3 draw with Southampton on March 18, in which he took out his ire, in part, on the players.

"We are 11 players that go into the pitch," he told reporters. "I see selfish players, I see players that don't want to help each other and don't put their heart (in). ... Why? Because they are used to it here; they are used to it. They don't play for something important. They don't want to play under pressure; they don't want to play under stress."

But his pointed words weren't only directed at the players, but also seemingly at management and the overall culture of the club.

"It is easy in this way. Tottenham's story is this. Twenty years there is the owner and they never won something, but why?" he said. "The fault is only for the club or for every manager that stays here. I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench."

While Spurs actually have won a trophy in the past 20 years, claiming a League Cup in 2008, the 53-year-old Conte continued the club's unwanted tradition of not winning any silverware since.

Conte did get Tottenham to qualify for this year's Champions League with a fourth-place finish last season, his first at the helm, surpassing bitter rival Arsenal for the final berth. It was the high point of his 17 months on the job. But this season Spurs find themselves narrowly in fourth place, two points clear of Newcastle but with two more matches played.

Arsenal, meanwhile, sit atop the Premier League table, 20 points clear of Tottenham.

"I'm really upset and everyone has to take their responsibility. Not only the club, the manager and the staff—the players have to be involved in this situation because it is time to change this situation if Tottenham want to change," Conte said. "If they want to continue in this way, they can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me."

In response, Tottenham will try its luck with another manager. Conte's time in North London has come to a close.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte blasted his players and the club's ownership after a disappointing 3-3 draw against Southampton on Saturday.

"The problem is that for another time we showed that we are not a team, we are 11 players that go onto the pitch," Conte said after the match. "I see selfish players, I see players that don't want to help each other and don't put their heart."

The criticism extended to the club's struggles over the past two decades:

"They're used to it here," Conte said. "Don't play for something important. They don't want to play under pressure. They don't want to play under stress. Tottenham's story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something. Why?"

Tottenham have never finished first in the Premier League, last winning a first division title in 1961. The club last won a major trophy in the 2007/08 League Cup, which is the only trophy won under the ownership of ENIC since it purchased the club in 2003.

Spurs have qualified for the UEFA Champions League multiple times in recent years and reached the final of Europe's premier club competition in 2019, but ownership has faced frequent criticism for the team's lack of silverware.

Conte has been with Spurs since 2021 and has the team sitting in fourth in the Premier League, which would secure another Champions League spot. But over the past few weeks, the club was eliminated by AC Milan in the Champions League round of 16 and by Championship side Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round to all but ensure another trophyless season, and fans have been frustrated by the team's counterattacking style of play.

The latest disappointment against Southampton came against a side sitting last in the EPL table.

Tottenham led 3-1 after the 74th minute but conceded a pair of goals, including a penalty in the 93rd minute, to finish with a 3-3 draw. The result could be significant with Spurs trying to hold off Newcastle, Liverpool and others for a top-four spot.

"The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, every coach that stayed here has the responsibility," Conte said. "And the players? The players? Where are the players? In my experience, if you want to be competitive, if you want to fight, you have to improve this aspect."

There is no shortage of talent on the roster with Harry Kane and Heung-min Son among those excelling individually during their careers in London, but high-profile managers like Conte and José Mourinho have been unable to help bring success to the club despite both winning multiple titles elsewhere.

With an international break leaving a gap between the team's next match against Everton on April 3, it raises the question whether Conte will be in the dugout by the time Spurs travel to Goodison Park.

Chelsea FC announced Saturday that the club has banned a season-ticket holder for racially abusing Tottenham Hotspur forward Heung-Min Son.

After condemning the actions last week, Chelsea released a statement Saturday, noting that the fan had been identified and banned:

According to ESPN, a fan was seen making a "racist gesture" toward Son, who is Korean, during a 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Before the fan was identified, Chelsea released a statement outlining their opposition to discriminatory behavior:

"Chelsea Football Club finds any form of discriminatory behaviour totally abhorrent. It has no place at Chelsea or in any of our communities.

"Chelsea FC has consistently made its zero tolerance position on discriminatory behaviour very clear, yet there are still idiots like this that attach themselves to this club as so called 'fans', which shames Chelsea FC, our coaches, players, staff and our true supporters."

In 2019, a Chelsea fan was arrested at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for allegedly directing racial abuse toward Son.

Son, 30, is in the midst of his eighth season at Tottenham after previously playing for Bundesliga clubs Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen.

In 234 career English Premier League matches, Son has scored 93 times. Across all competitions, he has 131 career goals for Tottenham.

Son has also experienced great success for the South Korean national team, scoring 33 times, putting him in a tie for fourth on South Korea's all-time scoring list.

London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea aren't scheduled to meet again until Feb. 25 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Harry Kane made history Saturday, becoming the player to score the most career goals for a single club in the English Premier League.

The forward's club, Tottenham Hotspur, congratulated him on the accomplishment:

The EPL's official Twitter account noted that Kane is now the solo record holder with 185 goals for Tottenham, breaking a tie with Sergio Aguero, who scored 184 goals during his time at Manchester City:

Kane's record-breaking goal came in the 64th minute of Saturday's home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and it proved to be the lone goal in a 1-0 Spurs win:

Kane has spent his entire senior career at Tottenham with the exception of a few loan spells early in his career.

From 2010 to 2013, Kane spent some time at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City, but he has played exclusively at Tottenham for the past 10 seasons.

Kane's breakout season came in 2014-15 when he notched 21 EPL goals (31 in all competitions), and he became one of the league's elite scorers from that point forward.

Now 29, the Londoner has continued to produce at a high level and helped Tottenham remain near the top of the EPL table on a yearly basis.

When taking all competitions into account, Kane has found the back of the net 250 times at Tottenham in 389 matches.

Kane, who is a three-time winner of the Premier League Golden Boot as the EPL's leading goal scorer, has scored 60 goals across all competitions in the past two seasons combined, and already has two goals in three matches this season.

Tottenham Hotspur are still on the hunt for a first EPL title, although they have come close on numerous occasions, finishing second in 2017 and third in 2016 and 2018.

Thanks largely to the play of Kane, Tottenham have two wins and one draw in three matches so far this season, meaning they are already in the thick of championship contention.