Leeds have announced the EFL has approved the club’s takeover by American investment group 49ers Enterprises.
Chairman and majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani agreed to sell his controlling stake last month and the deal, which valued the club at around £170million, has now been confirmed.
49ers Enterprises, which owns NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers, has steadily increased its stake in Leeds since becoming a minority shareholder in 2018, while the deal includes full ownership of Elland Road.
Paraag Marathe, previously vice-chairman, will take over as chairman, chief executive Angus Kinnear will remain in his current position and Rudy Cline-Thomas, founder and managing partner of venture capital firm MASTRY, will join the board as co-owner and vice-chairman.
Former Norwich boss Daniel Farke was appointed manager on a four-year deal earlier this month ahead of the coming season’s bid to secure an immediate return to the Premier League following relegation in May.
Marathe said in a Leeds statement: “This is an important moment for Leeds United and we are already hard at work.
“This transition is a necessary reset to chart a new course for the club. We have already appointed a highly-respected first-team manager with a track record of success, and we are confident Leeds will field a competitive squad to contend for promotion next season.
“It’s a privilege to carry this torch as I know we have a responsibility to ensure this club makes our staff, players, supporters and the Leeds and Yorkshire communities proud.”
Cline-Thomas said: “With my family hailing from Leeds, it’s an honour to be able to uplift this incredible community.
“This is more than just an opportunity, it’s a personal mission. The chance to reinvigorate the cherished Leeds culture, to create a platform that attracts the world’s finest players, and build a truly global brand that celebrates diversity, is a prospect that thrills me.”
49ers Enterprises increased its stake in Leeds to 44 per cent in 2021 with the option of buying Radrizzani’s remaining 56 per cent before January 2024.
The Americans had been keen to push through a full takeover this summer, but that agreement, which had valued Leeds at around £400million, was contingent on the club remaining in the Premier League.
Leeds’ relegation forced both parties back into intense negotiations and a valuation of close to £170m was agreed.
The deal marks the end of a six-year ownership of Leeds for Radrizzani, who said: “It has been an honour to guide Leeds United…and to spend so much time with the best fan base in the world.
“49ers Enterprises have been fantastic partners for years and I’m confident they will take Leeds to the next level.”
Radrizzani completed a full takeover from fellow Italian Massimo Cellino in 2017 and was initially hugely popular.
He bought back Elland Road stadium, which had been in private ownership since 2004, and brought in fresh investment when 49ers Enterprises purchased its first 10 per cent stake in 2018.
The appointment of Marcelo Bielsa soon after proved a masterstroke as Leeds won promotion back to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years.
But Radrizzani’s relationship with the Leeds fan base began to sour when Bielsa was sacked in February 2022.
Leeds escaped relegation on the final day of the 2021-22 season and Radrizzani promised that the club would not be involved in another survival fight.
But results this past season failed to improve under three different managers. Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia were both sacked, while Sam Allardyce left after his four-game rescue mission ended in failure.
When relegation was confirmed with a final-day defeat to Tottenham, Radrizzani was absent from Elland Road, opting instead to remain in Italy to finalise his takeover of Sampdoria.
He later admitted Leeds’ board had made mistakes and apologised for the club’s relegation in a personal statement posted on social media.
But after it emerged he had offered to use Elland Road as collateral when securing a £26m bank loan to buy Sampdoria – one of his companies and not Leeds owned the stadium – his legacy was further tainted.
Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi says Joaquin Correa "showed what he can do" as he inspired Inter to a 5-0 win at Verona on Saturday.
The Argentine made his first start of the season, scoring a goal, registering two assists and striking the woodwork twice, as he stepped in for the absent Lautaro Martinez and helped Inter move top of the table.
Each of Correa's three away goals for Inter in Serie A have come at the Bentegodi against Verona, while he both scored and assisted in a single Serie A match for only the second time, after July 2020, for Lazio against Brescia.
"Correa deserved this chance for how he's been working since June, he showed what he can do," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"I'm happy for him. In addition to being a great player, he's a good guy who continued with his work despite some mistrust."
Inter scored at least five goals in the first half of an away league game for only the second time in their history in Serie A, after their 5-1 win against Sampdoria in the first 45 minutes of play back in March 1964.
Last season, Correa was sent on a one-year loan to Marseille and was expected to leave Inter for good as the French club had an option to buy the player.
Upon his return, the 30-year-old made three appearances in the first 12 league games, entering from the bench at Monza, Udinese and Roma before he was selected to pair up with Marcus Thuram from the start against Verona.
Correa opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a chipped finish after a precise pass from Thuram. He then returned the favour and teed the Frenchman up to double the lead in the 22nd, before setting up Yann Bisseck for the fifth before the break.
"It wasn't difficult because my team-mates helped me and were happy when I scored," Correa said.
"I wanted to do the back heel for Bisseck, but there was also a bit of luck. There are a lot of good guys here, we have to continue like this."
Inter next host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, and they may still be without Martinez, who fell sick when he returned from international duty.
"We need to see how the virus evolves," Inzaghi said. "Last night he had chills and this morning he had a fever of almost 38 degrees.
"I had [the same virus] too, skipping training on Monday and Tuesday. In any case, he would have been [resting] on the bench today even if he had been here. We'll see."
Martinez scored in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (2-1) and Peru (1-0).
Girona 4-1 Espanyol: Miovski bags double as hosts ride on first-half blitz
Bojan Miovski scored twice as Girona thrashed Espanyol 4-1 in LaLiga at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi on Saturday.
Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci were also on the scoresheet as the home side raced to a 4-0 lead inside the first half hour, with Javi Puado scoring the visiting side's only goal after the break.
After the match was halted because of a fan being taken ill in the crowd, Gil opened the scoring when he unleashed a stunning long-range strike into the bottom corner with four minutes on the clock.
Gil was behind the second goal for Michel's side too, as he capitalised on a defensive error and crossed to Miovski, who made it 2-0 in the 16th minute before the pair combined again for a third five minutes later.
Donny van de Beek's header from Yaser Asprilla's corner was pushed in by Krejci for Girona's fourth in the 27th minute.
Espanyol got a consolation goal 10 minutes into the second half when Puado hit a long-range strike that found the back of Paulo Gazzaniga's net.
Girona, last season's surprise package, climbed to fifth in LaLiga with 21 points, while Espanyol are 19th and in the relegation zone with 10 points.
Guardiola acknowledges Man City 'are fragile' after fifth straight defeat
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged that he is in new territory following their 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, which was their fifth on the bounce.
But despite that, he was not going to hit the panic button, with his side second in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Liverpool.
"We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then the situation is more difficult," he told Sky Sports after the match.
"I've been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona we lost. [In the] last eight years, the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.
"There are no fairytales in life and sport, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it. You can't blame each other, stay together, continue to do what we have done.
"Run away? Absolutely not, we have to stand up more than ever. What will define us is when we fail, we stand up and face it."
Guardiola is by some distance City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies at the club, including each of the last four Premier League titles.
His side visit league leaders Liverpool next week and could trail them by eight points by the time kick-off comes, with Arne Slot's side playing a day after City this weekend.
"I don't know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players," said Guardiola.
"There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, 10 years in a row.
"Of course, everything is not fine, but what we try to do is analyse it, let's go to next game and see what happens."
On the individual performances of his players, Guardiola lamented the fitness issues that his side has faced in recent weeks.
"Chances were there. The moment they create the chances, the build-up, we couldn't handle the duels like normal. Now we're struggling a little bit," he told BBC Sport.
"It cannot happen. When you play top level teams, we can concede chances but it's part of process. In our situation, it's a bit tougher.
"The players came back late [from international duty]. There were a few reasons we're not able to be consistent.
"Of course, Rodri is important, but we knew that for many months. But [John] Stones can only play 45 minutes, Jack [Grealish] has been injured many times, Kevin [de Bruyne] two months and five months.
"We have to come back and freshen our minds. The season is so long, many things can happen."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
