'Daniel Levy signed me for Tottenham – his true colours have always been very clear'

Jermain Defoe admits it was hard seeing Tottenhamfans protest against Daniel Levy, who was so kind to him and his family. The departing Spurs chairman announced his resignation on Thursday.

Levy ushered the north London club into a new era, spearheading the move from their old home of White Hart Lane to the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He first joined the board in 2000 and was appointed to the role he now departs in 2001.

Defoe was signed by Levy's Spurs in 2004 and went on to make 363 appearances for them across two spells, scoring 143 goals before later returning as under-18s coach and club ambassador in 2022. Speaking earlier this year, he opened up on how he views Levy and his admiration for how the 63-year-old dealt with him during his playing days.

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"Do you know what, obviously with me, Daniel signed me from West Ham and I played for the club for nine years," Defoe began, speaking to Mirror Football courtesy of bet365's new Sub On Play On product.

"Every time I've come across Daniel, he's been nice. He's always really been nice to my mum and my family - and my family means a lot to me."

Levy cut a controversial figure amongst Tottenham supporters during his near 25-year spell in N17, and he and the club's hierarchy were often the subject of fan-organised protests.

Defoe, whilst acknowledging the reasons why some fans felt aggrieved by how Levy and Co ran the club, admitted he found such backlash difficult to digest, knowing the departing chief personally.

"I do get what the fans say, but the chairman can only do so much. I think his vision was, 'I want this club to be the best in class,'" added Defoe. "So that means the best training ground - we've got that.

"Some of the best coaches in terms of academy coaches. I was part of that for two years, some amazing coaches there, good people. The infrastructure, you know, having a stadium that everyone's proud of.

"Then he got to a point where he thought, 'You know what, okay, [Mauricio] Pochettino's gone and that, again, best in class, let's go and get Jose Mourinho.' It didn't happen. The next best one, Antonio Conte. So no one can really say that he's not tried.

"It was hard seeing all the protests and all that sort of stuff. Because I just thought to myself, 'I wonder what Daniel is thinking.' Just that human side. He was probably sitting there with his wife, I think sometimes his dad comes [to games], and I just sat there and I thought, 'I wonder how he's feeling.'

"Listen, no one's perfect. So even though people were frustrated at the recruitment, all that sort of stuff, 'I've given you the best stadium, the best training ground.' So everything's there, the foundations are there. The club is stable."

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