As reported by The Times, Barclays Bank has accepted a £40m fine from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority for the deals made during the 2008 global financial crisis to avoid “a taxpayer rescue”.

Now, Amanda Staveley had also made a £830m claim against the bank most famous in English football for serving as the Premier League’s title sponsor between 2001 and 2016 (still acting as its Official Bank). While she lost this claim in the British high court three years ago, she mounted a fresh claim for the same in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris earlier this year.

Even in denying Staveley her claim in 2021, the UK high court did find Barclays guilt of deceit. If the ICC were to follow the same path taken by the FCA, it could line up a serious windfall for the 51-year-old businesswomen credited with the Abu Dhabi-led acquisition of Manchester City in 2008 as well as the Newcastle United acquisition of 2021 spearheaded by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

Staveley, after leaving her role at Newcastle United in the summer, has been linked in particular with a potential investment in Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy also having declared the club’s intention of securing funding from the outside. Staveley has previously been touted to bring in another part from the Middle East for the Spurs acquisition, with Qatar interested, but a potential ICC ruling in her favour could allow her to front up a proposal on her own, thereby expediting the process.

Not unthinkable

The recent FCA findings blows the door wide open for a domino effect to bring Staveley into the Tottenham fold. We already know from her involvement in the Newcastle takeover that she does not take no for an answer, and an initial rebuttal only leads to a delayed takeover down the line.

More Tottenham News:

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• Tottenham backed to bring former Manchester United star to the Premier League

Of course, one can hardly blame a lay Spurs fan for not being able to understand or even be concerned with the legal and geopolitical nuances of what a positive Staveley ruling by the ICC would entail, but in terms of football, it would certainly make a takeover more likely, which in turn could also turn around Spurs’ fortunes—pun absolutely intended.