How Leeds United and partners San Francisco 49ers came together to reveal their global ambitions

Chairman Andrea Radrizzani may see English football’s top six – Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and the Manchester clubs – as out of reach commercially but he set the goal of Europa League football within “three or four years” after extra investment which sees Paraag Marathe, president of 49ers Enterprises, step up from director to vice-chairman.

“I share the same dream with Paraag – to have a big European nights in a ‘new’ stadium with Leeds United,” says Radrizzani.

This is not, Marathe stresses, the next step on a takeover by the American football giants, who have increased the 15 per cent stake bought in 2018, a year after Radrizzani took majority control of the Elland Road club, to 37 per cent. The Italian says the investment is bigger than the £50m reported but coy on how much. Numbers do not matter, both insist, portraying less a business partnership, more a friendship.

“I want to build with people I can trust and work together well with,” insists Radrizzani, who wants to tap into the 49ers’ expertise as much as their cash.

“I don’t think it’s the level of investment that changes life for Leeds United.”

Marathe stresses, “It’s not just about me, it’s about all of our key executives at the 49ers lending expertise wherever we can.”

Speaking on Zoom from different parts of the world, there is an easy back-and-forth and plenty of laughter.

When Radrizzani tops talk of “kinetic energy” with his own analogy, Marathe fires back, “A snake that changes it’s skin? That was good, did you come up with that just now? That’s creative!” He signs off with a cheery, “Talk to you soon, brother!”

But this is a serious business for Leeds fans, which is what Radrizzani and Marathe now are.

The former warned “This doesn’t mean tomorrow we buy a player, unfortunately,” but his friend is still thinking big.

“We hope today marks the beginning of what we see in 20, 30, 40 years as Leeds metriculates to one of the best and most powerful clubs in the world,” he says.

“This is a powerful club with a remarkable history that has such strong bones, already one of the most recognisable brands in global football. It’s like a dormant kinetic energy just waiting to come out of the ground when we got promoted. You see that in how much we’re talked about on social media, how much passion the club plays with, how many times we’re playing on primetime Sky.”

Radrizzani speaks of a new five to seven-year plan not a petrodollar-fuelled turbocharge – financial fair play rules have probably pulled up the ladder to that.

“It’s a lot of micro-achievements because the club has come from the Championship,” he argues. “In two to three years it needs to enter a new cycle and gradually change the skin.

“We need to respect the numbers and be rational. We are 12th in the league, we have 23 points but we need 40 to be in the Premier League next season.”

He ticked off his first aim, promotion within five years as chairman, in two. Now, “a realistic goal could be to be in the Europa League in three or four years.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers qualified at the end of their first season back in the top flight, but on financial steroids. Sheffield United pushed hard for Europe last season and their struggles this show how difficult consolidating in the Premier League is.

Then it will be about restoring Elland Road. The ground looks shabby nowadays and Marathe’s 20 years with the 49ers included moving stadium but he seems intent of following the lead of the American owners of Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox in building on the history of a historic home, not bulldozing it.

“We want to improve and modernise the experience while maintaining the aura and magic of the stadium,” says Marathe: “You have to respect the 100-year-old tradition of that stadium.”

Radrizzani cautions: “We need to be in the Premier League for the next two or three seasons before we can start to think about that. In the meantime we can do some partial renovation.”

Marathe also wants to make Leeds better at e-commerce. “We have a global fanbase, it isn’t just limited to Yorkshire, it’s around the world,” he says.

If bridging the football gap is hard enough then commercially, “With the top six it’s almost impossible,” warns Radrizzani. A mooted European Super League would only make it harder.

“We need to be in the range of clubs like Everton, West Ham, Aston Villa, Leicester,” he says. “We need to double our revenue in three to five years.

“But sport is not only about money. If we have good ideas we will be competitive as we have shown in the last three years.

“Our supporters should be proud of our achievement and how we play. We have all the elements to continue to grow.”

Pacing it well will be as vital as how many dollars are pumped in.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.