The Italy midfielder joined Spurs on 6 July in a club-record deal that could rise to £100m, and speaking on Tottenham’s pre-season tour in Australia three weeks later, he made no attempt to dress up how it came about.
“We had decided to come back in Italy but it was impossible for the money,” Tonali told the Standard.
“England was our solution and we found the best solution in England for me, for my career, for my football, for my happiness, for my family.”
Ten minutes with De Zerbi
Tonali said he spoke to two English clubs before choosing.
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“I spoke with two teams. I understood after 10, 15 minutes that Tottenham would be my next team.”
The decisive call was with Roberto De Zerbi, appointed Spurs head coach in March. Like Tonali, he came through Brescia, and much of the conversation stayed there.
“We spoke about Brescia, about the difficult situation facing our club,” Tonali said. He added that the city mattered less than his family’s daily life: “I spoke with my wife, this was the first thing. We wanted to change our life, but not just for the city, we wanted to change everything.”
£92.5m up front, £7.5m in add-ons
Newcastle bought Tonali for £55m in 2023 and banked £92.5m up front plus £7.5m in add-ons, close to a £45m profit. His Spurs wages are believed to exceed £275,000 a week.
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The transfer went through on 6 July, more than three weeks before Eddie Howe left St James’ Park on 30 July after almost five years as head coach. Newcastle are understood to have agreed terms in principle with Al-Ahli’s Matthias Jaissle as his successor.
Two years from ban to record fee
Tonali arrived in the summer of 2023 and, by October, had been banned for 10 months by the Italian FA after admitting breaches of betting rules. He returned to competitive football in August 2024 and, in the season and a half that followed, played his way to Tottenham’s club-record signing.
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