Buying back Elland Road too much of a risk at moment, says Cellino

MASSIMO CELLINO last night revealed that the planned £16m purchase of Elland Road is on hold due to an on-going dispute with former Leeds United owners, Gulf Finance House.
Massimo Cellino at Elland Road. PIC: Steve RidingMassimo Cellino at Elland Road. PIC: Steve Riding
Massimo Cellino at Elland Road. PIC: Steve Riding

The United president made the pledge to re-claim ownership of the club’s stadium one of his key promises when buying a 75 per cent stake from the Bahrain-based investment bank in April.

A self-imposed deadline of November 30 was set by Cellino at the time, but he now admits that target is unlikely to be met.

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This, Cellino insists, is because GFH have failed to sign an agreement that renegotiated the terms of his purchase of the club.

Under the original terms, the 58-year-old Italian agreed to take on almost £25m of debt but that was renegotiated in July with the bank agreeing to waive half of that sum and delay repayment of any debt until Leeds were promoted to the Premier League.

Cellino now claims that the new deal remains unsigned and that until the matter is revolved, buying back Elland Road remains too big a risk.

“With my partners (GFH), I was trying to get along and do a deal with them,” said the United president. “But we didn’t get to the solution. We cannot buy the stadium before we solve that problem.

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“If we invest all this money without having solved the problem, it is a big risk. We would be investing in the stadium while this situation is unstable.

“I thought two months ago we found a solution. I was happy. But for the last two months I have been trying to fix everything and I haven’t fixed it yet.”

United sold Elland Road in November, 2004, to Manchester businessman Jacob Adler for £8m amid crippling debts.

The club lease the stadium annually for £1.6m – the rent rises annually in November – but have the right to repurchase the ground for a set fee at any time before November 2029.

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In a statement, GFH Capital denied Cellino’s claims, saying: “GFHC sold the club to Massimo Cellino under specific terms which he is now trying to renegotiate. Further, he was seeking financing from GFHC to purchase the club, which GFHC was willing to consider.

“However, we wanted Mr Cellino to show commitment to his obligations under the sale agreement since he has only paid part, not all, of his obligations.

“Further, GFHC agreed to the sale of Ross McCormack (to Fulham for £11m) on that basis that Mr Cellino would proceed with buying the stadium. GFHC is surprised that this has yet to happen.”