After claiming that former Tottenham Hotspur owner Lord Alan Sugar left the north Londoners in a ‘complete mess’ upon his departure, Jamie Redknapp has issued an apology live on Sky Sports after The Apprentice star, who was a largely unpopular figure among fans, threatened to sue the midfielder-turned-pundit in a series of posts on social media.
Lord Sugar served in his position as part-owner and chairman between 1991 and 2001 before selling his controlling interest to ENIC; he eventually sold his stake to ENIC in two stages in 2000 and 2007, which brought an end to his 16-year association with the club.
Despite it being a while since he has been involved in the day-to-day goings-on, the self-made billionaire still watches Spurs in action – and that was evidenced by the fact that he replied to Redknapp’s remarks recently when the ex-midfielder pointed out the stark differences between how Lord Sugar and Daniel Levy’s respective stints at the top of the club ended.
Redknapp Apologises To Lord Sugar For Ownership Jab
At the beginning of September, Tottenham – after Levy’s just short of 25 years of up-and-down service – announced the 63-year-old had left the club with immediate effect and Redknapp, alongside Gianfranco Zola, took to Sky Sports’ coverage of West Ham United’s Premier League meeting with Spurs to insist that he’s left them in a ‘really good way’.
On the other hand, before he managed to praise Levy, he took aim at Lord Sugar. He said: “You think back to how Alan Sugar left the club, it was a complete mess – Daniel Levy has left this club in a really good way and Vinai will know that and the people in charge now can look at this club and really believe that this can go forward.”
Angered at Redknapp’s scathing assessment of the end of his former tenureship, The Apprentice figurehead took to X (formerly Twitter) to hit back: “Jamie Redknapp is a double barrel idiot. He talks a load of rubbish. He said when David Levy took over Spurs, Alan Sugar left the club in a right mess. He and Sky will be hearing from my lawyers Monday.”
Almost a month on from his initial claims, Redknapp has tracked back and issued a formal apology. During Sky Sports’ coverage of Bournemouth’s 3-1 home win over Fulham, the ex-Liverpool and England star claimed that Spurs were much more financially healthy under Lord Sugar and that he managed to ‘stabilise’ the north Londoners. Per the Daily Mail, he said:
“I mentioned that Lord Sugar had left the club in a mess. I just want to make clear that he stabilised the club and invested heavily during his time as chairman. When he took over in 1991, Spurs were close to bankruptcy and by the time he stepped away the financial position had been turned around.
“He also put significant money into the team and facilities,” 52-year-old Redknapp – who played 49 times for Spurs between the years of 2002 and 2005 – said. “I apologise to Lord Sugar and his family for any misunderstanding and for any distress caused, and am happy to set the record straight.”
Lord Sugar, as a means of ending their constant back-and-forth, then returned to X. “Tonight, during Sky’s Bournemouth vs Fulham coverage, Redknapp has made a full apology and retracted this false allegation. Also, by way of a further apology, a donation of £10,000 has been made to Great Ormond Street Hospital,” he wrote.