Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle wealthy owners have excelled in the selfish stakes

John W. Henry. Joe Lewis. Mike Ashley. Three billionaire owners of Premier League football clubs. Yet, on the evidence of the past week, three men who would call by a foodbank to top up their weekly shop.

At least in the case of Henry he has decided against helping himself, even if he was chased back through the door amid a chorus of disapproval.

But in seeking to take advantage of the government’s coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the respective owners of Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle have shamefully exposed the opportunistic and capitalist morals that, in all probability, made them very wealthy in the first place.

And why have they done this? Well, because they can. It’s an open goal, so to speak. Free money. And that is their currency, quite literally.

Yes, it is meant for others – those in greater need – but why look a gift horse in the mouth? Better still to saddle up and ride straight to the bank.

Ashley and Newcastle were the pacesetters, Lewis and Spurs took their lead before Henry and Liverpool emerged in the final furlong – sorry, furlough – to take first prize in this year’s running of the Selfish Stakes.

The subsequent backlash against American businessman Henry and his Fenway Sports Group caused them to reverse their intention – for which they deserve some credit – but the horse had bolted when it comes to reputational damage.

It was estimated they would save £500,000 per month having initially announced that 200 non-playing staff were to be placed on furlough at the taxpayers’ expense. Remember, for a moment, that Henry is worth around £1.9billion and Liverpool announced profits of £42million just last month.

And what of Spurs? Lewis is said to own a yacht worth in excess of £100m. His personal fortune is around £4.3bn and he lives as a tax exile in the Bahamas. Spurs will be taking around £1.4m per month from the taxpayer to fund their furloughed employees.

Doesn’t sit right, does it? Not when these owners can comfortably afford to support their own staff through this crisis and – in doing so – avoid dipping their already-gilded gloves into the public purse.

Newcastle make much of the excellent work their charity foundation does in the community, much of it with foodbanks. However, the very values at the core of such initiatives – goodwill and generosity towards less fortunate others – have been betrayed by an owner’s act of self-interest.

It is worth noting that among Newcastle’s furloughed staff were the foundation workers who, the previous week, were delivering much-needed supplies to said foodbanks, one of which is the largest in the UK.

Ashley will argue that his club runs to far tighter margins than the likes of Liverpool – and he is right – but he still had a decision to make. He could, in the short term at least, have funded the salaries of his non-playing staff and thus protected the government fund intended to preserve the fabric of a society that is in danger of being torn apart.

But, as in the case of Henry and Lewis and other billionaire owners who are no doubt considering a similar course, along came temptation and a window to exploit.

Liverpool felt the full force of their attempted cash grab this week. In asking us – the taxpayer – to help them, they miscalculated the cost of such a move on just about every level.

But perhaps it is that the only line a lot of these owners really care about is the one at the bottom of the balance sheet. In that regard, they will be a few quid better off at the end of the month. In the eyes of the rest of us, however, they are all the poorer for it.

Financially sound, yet morally bankrupt, you might say.