The Manchester United icon called out the Tottenham chairman over perceived foul play regarding a former academy graduate in 2013.
Manchester United and Daniel Levy have not always seen eye to eye, most recently over the transfer availability of Harry Kane.
While sanctioning a sale this summer seems the smart thing to do, the Tottenham chairman sees it differently. United learned early on that Levy was going to play stubborn overKane, maybe in factbecauseof the club’s poor 2022/23 season rather than in spite of it.
Rumours suggest Spurs could dangle a new contract that would see the striker earn £400,000-a-week and if he agrees then it might be their most important signing for a number of years.
Levy is a shrewd businessman, not only in cashing in on players but ensuring his squad retains a substantial value. His approach has left many clubs fɾυȿτɾɑted down the years, includingUnited.
Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to wait until deadline day to prise Dimitar Berbatov away from White Hart Lane in 2008 for £30m – a fee that made the eyes water back then. Four-and-a-half years later, Levy was subjected to the wrath of Sir Alex over the signing of one of his former players.
Zeki Fryers had been tipped for a bright future when he joined the long line of academy graduates after making his senior debut in September 2011 in a League Cup tie against Leeds.
By 19, the centre-back-cum-left-back had earned six senior appearances including two Premier League outings and a cameo in the Champions League. The teenager was eager to progress so decided to look for another club with better game time prospects when he turned down United’s three-year contract renewal.
League rules state that clubs interested in players aged 23 and under who are out of contract must pay compensation to the player’s former employer. Spurs had enrolled Fryers in a trial in the summer of 2012 but refused to dish out the £6m United were looking for.
In the єɴԀ, Belgium giants Standard Liege came calling and the youngster had his head turned in a rare move that saw an English prospect move abroad. United received under £1m in compensation in the єɴԀ.
“Unitedoffered a three-year contract but I rєjєƈτed the offer,” Fryers said shortly after his move. “Spurs were interested but the fee was too much. Then Standard Liege arrived with a good opportunity for me to play regular games and get experience.
“I thought it was the right time for me to leave and get experience playing in a good league. You never know what will happen in football, but I made the right decision for me.
“My first goal is to grow as a player, not to get international recognition directly. In football, everything changes very quickly.”
But Fryers would soon return to English shores again after just seven appearances for his new club. In January 2013, Levy caught wind that the defєɴԀer was longing for a return home and Fryers was holding up a Tottenham shirt in front of the camera before long.
Sir Alexsaid he smelt a rat and called out Levy. “I’m disappointed in Tottenham, I really am,” the United boss said.
“I think it’s a blatant manipulation of the situation. They tried to buy him at the єɴԀ of last season and we couldn’t agree terms. They took him on trial and to Portugal with the Tottenham squad and came back and said they couldn’t afford him.
“All of a sudden he signs for Standard Liege and when I heard that I expected him to go to Tottenham in January. The Premier League should stop the registration until they examine it. There will be a trail, mobile phones (records) or something. It’s obvious to me.”
Sir Alex added when speaking toMUTV: “It’s a Daniel Levy Ԁєɑł. You know, it’s his fingerprints all over it. It’s the kind of thing we expected he was going to do.” It’s thought no rules were broken, but United were suspicious.
They considered making a formal complaint to the Premier League but ultimately decided against pulling the trigger. ȿτɑτємєɴτs from both Spurs and Standard Liege had been penned claiming Fryers had been homesick and that a change of manager had altered his place in the club’s ρłɑɴs.
Standard Liege said: “The young defєɴԀer felt homesick and had difficulty acclimating to life away from home and family. So when the London club became interested we understood the situation and were not opposed to the return of the player in England.”
Tottenham confirmed United would receive five per cent of the £3m paid to Standard Liege. A spokesperson for the club said: “Zeki was out of contract [with United] in the summer, we had looked into the possibility of signing the player but were unable to agree a Ԁєɑł on the terms Manchester United were asking.
“Zeki chose to go to Standard Liege, who paid compensation to Manchester United. Zeki enjoyed his time at Standard. However, when they sacked their manager [Ron Jans] in November Zeki was not part of the new manager’s ρłɑɴs, which he accepts and understands happens in football.
“Unfortunately, a combination of this and the fact he had become homesick meant he wanted to return to England. His representatives made contact with clubs in England and this afforded us a second opportunity to sign the player.
“As per FIFA’s solidarity contribution mechanism, Manchester United will receive 5 per cent of the transfer fee we have paid.”
So Sir Alex, never afraid to take on the big fish of Premier League boardrooms, did get something for Fryers in the єɴԀ.
Fryers played 16 times for Tottenham and gave a defiant post-match interview after his first Premier League start against Stoke City in the following December.
He said: “A lot of people say that when you leave Man United you go down. But for me, I feel like I have gone up, in terms of my development.”
Regarding the controversy around his move to Tottenham, he said: “There were always going to be accusations, obviously. I wanted a new adventure, really. There were certain things there that didn’t fall my way.
“And I thought it was time to move on. I felt that I wanted to be more regularly involved around the first team. I wanted to go abroad to further my career. Most foreign players come to England to play, but it’s rare that English people go abroad to play.
“So I thought I was going to go and try something new. I enjoyed it, it was a great experience.”
United were next up on New Year’s Day and Fryers admitted his desire to try and prove himself against his former employers. He said: “Obviously, that would cross your mind. You want to start, especially against big teams like Man United. I’d love to start against my old club.”
He was left on the bench as Tottenham secured a rare 2-1 win at Old Trafford. He only made nine further appearances before his 2014 switch to Crystal Palace, where he єɴԀed up facing United for the first and only time in his career.
He featured for the final 10 minutes in the December 2016 encounter, as he saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic score an 88th-minute winner at Selhurst Park.
The former England Under-19 international, now 30, then went on a journey down the English football pyramid with stints at Rotherham and Ipswich before spells at Barnsley, Swindon and Stockport. He turned out for Welling United and Macclesfield in 2022 and is now at second-tier Swedish side AFC Eskilstuna.
Levy’s astute business acumen worked in Spurs’ favour a decade ago. Time will tell if Kane benefits from his transfer ploy.
