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Setting aside club rivalries entirely, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has called on supporters of Arsenal, Chelsea, and every London club except Tottenham Hotspur to get behind West Ham United in their fight to avoid Premier League relegation.
Khan highlighted that the city's taxpayers as a whole could face a combined additional bill of £2.5 million ($3.4 million) if West Ham are relegated, owing to the increased costs of their London Stadium hosting Championship matches.
With just two fixtures left in the season, the Premier League relegation battle has narrowed to a straight fight between Spurs and West Ham. While the financial blow of relegation for Tottenham could surpass $300 million for the club's billionaire ownership, a drop down the divisions for the Hammers would directly impact the wallets of ordinary Londoners, Khan warned.
"What I'd say to Londoners who don't support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham," said the mayor—who was driven to support Liverpool after enduring racist abuse from fans of several London clubs during his childhood—in an interview with The Standard.
"The previous mayor, Boris Johnson, negotiated the worst deal imaginable," Khan said, referring to the arrangement made between West Ham and the government to lease the London Stadium back in 2016.
"As far as West Ham are concerned, [it's] a deal of the century where he basically gave them rent free, this amazing stadium for 100 years. Now if West Ham are relegated, we, the taxpayers, we City Hall, could lose up to £2.5 million a year.
"So what I say to Londoners who don't support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham, because the taxpayer will lose out if West Ham go down."
The Numbers Behind West Ham's Potential Relegation
West Ham's home ground, once known as the Olympic Stadium when it was inaugurated for the 2012 summer Games, is under the ownership of the Greater London Authority (GLA), which falls under the jurisdiction of Mayor Khan.
Under the deal arranged by Boris Johnson—a point Khan was eager to emphasize given their opposing political affiliations—West Ham pay £4.4 million annually to lease the stadium, with the remaining costs of hosting each match covered by the GLA, meaning London's taxpayers foot the bill.
Labour assembly member Bassam Mahfouz disclosed to The Standard earlier this season that West Ham's rent would be cut in half if they are relegated to the Championship—already wiping £2.2 million off the income. On top of that, Championship clubs play 23 home games compared to 19 in the Premier League, pushing up operational expenses such as stewarding costs.
"It's a financial fiasco so badly negotiated it could only be described as an own goal," Mahfouz fumed.
For each individual taxpayer, the cost amounts to under 50 pence—a figure far less striking than the headline £2.5 million. Nevertheless, it represents a very real challenge for the government, which cautioned that they "would need to find additional support" to cover this significant shortfall in the budget.