Ben Foster lifts lid on the 'bonkers' bonus system Daniel Levy created for Spurs players

Ben Foster has lifted the lid on the "bonkers" system that Daniel Levy used at Tottenham that made it "almost impossible" for players to receive the bonus payments in their contracts.

Levy has become notorious for his no-nonsense approach to negotiation down the years, with Harry Kane's long-winded transfer saga a prime example.

Former England goalkeeper Foster has now labelled the 61-year-old "brutal" and "ruthless" after revealing the bonus payments system he introduced at Tottenham.

The retired shot-stopper, who recently called time on his career after a short spell with Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham, allegedly got the scoop from Danny Rose, who played alongside Foster at England and Watford.

Rose also made more than 200 appearances for Spurs, and opened up to Foster about the fascinating rules around bonus payments.

According to Rose, Tottenham players would only receive their bonus if they beat a top six side by two or more goals, meaning a even a 1-0 win over the likes of Manchester City or north London rivals Arsenal would not be deemed enough.

"One of the lads, Danny Rose, was at Tottenham and Daniel Levy is so famously known for being tight and being an absolute businessman, brutal, ruthless businessman," Foster told The Fozcast.

"Apparently, their bonus schedule, their bonus payments were almost impossible to achieve, almost impossible. To actually get paid a bonus, you would only get it for beating one of the big boys, one of the top six teams. So you're talking a Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool.

"Apparently, I swear on my life, this is what he said to me, you've got to beat them by two clear goals as well. [1-0] it's not enough mate, you ain't getting that bonus. Winning games, they expect you to win games as Tottenham manager, at Tottenham apparently.

"To get the bonus you have to obliterate your opponent. You have to beat Man City 2-0, 3-0 to get that bonus payment which is bonkers. I was saying 'Rosey, there's no chance, that's impossible'. He was just saying 'I know Fozzy, I know'.

"He said there was one time they were winning 2-0 and in the last minute they conceded a goal and everyone was looking at each other thinking 'OK come on lads we've missed out on the bonus', and they've still won the big game."

Topics: Ben Foster, Tottenham Hotspur, Danny Rose, Football, Premier League

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno