Leeds United sale grows more likely as Andrea Radrizzani completes 11th-hour Sampdoria takeover

After a day of tense negotiating and brinkmanship with Massimo Ferrera, a deal was pushed through hours before the deadline to pay player wages.

Without it, relegated Sampdoria would have started next season on minus four points in Serie B. The iconic Genoese club had been in danger of bankruptcy.

"It was a real battle," said a statement on behalf of Radrizzani, who fronted the consortium which now owns the club. "We can finally say we made it.

"We are nothing short of enthusiastic to be able to announce that we have completed the acquisition of this extraordinary club. The history and the Sampdoria coat of arms are safe and I think my happiness is that of all the people who were suffering for these colors.

"From today we move on.... and I personally can't wait to get to work."

The statement made no mention of Radrizzani's intentions with regards to Leeds, as has been the case throughout this process, which has been out in the opening since Radrizzani was pictured arriving for talks nine days earlier saying he was "hopeful" of a deal.

Radrizzani is the majority shareholder in Leeds and there is nothing in the rulebook that says he cannot own both clubs but there is considerable fan pressure on him to sell up after the Whites' Premier League relegation on Sunday, and there have long been plans for him to do so.

Addressing the problems which have dragged Sampdoria to relegation seem likely to take a lot of Radrizzani's time this summer, just as Leeds are in need of a revamp too.

"There are still many details to fix in order to close every formal aspect (of the takeover), but from today we start building something important, something that lasts over time," said Radrizzani's statement.

San Francisco 49ers Enterpises, the commercial wing of the NFL franchise, own the other 44 per cent of the club and are understood to have the option of buying Radrizzani's stake by January for a price thought to be in excess of £400m. But following relegation, the valuation of the club has dropped dramatically.

However, the 49ers are thought to be still interested in buying at a realistic price and there were reports the Leeds chairman ended last week in California thrashing out a deal for San Francisco 49ers Enterprises to buy him out of Elland Road.

Radrizzani was not at Elland Road to see the club he bought from the controversial Massimo Cellini for £45m in 2017 drop out of the top-flight, and no 49ers representatives were thought to be either.

Had they been, they would have heard repeated chants of "sell the club and go home" (the actual words used were somehwat saltier).

Radrizzani stabilised the club after the madness of the Cellini years and oversaw the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa in 2018. The Argentinian took Leeds into the top division in 2020.

But the decision-making triumvirate of Radrizzani, chief executive Angus Kinnear and Victor Orta have faced repeated criticism of their decision-making particularly since sacking the still extremely popular Bielsa in February 2022.

Even though the 49ers were heavily involved in the decision-making process – Paraag Marathe has been vice-chairman since January 2021 having joined the board three years earlier – have borne the brunt of the criticism and Victor Orta left the club last month after interim coach Javi Gracia was sacked after just 12 games.

With his successor, Sam Allardyce, only appointed for the last four matches of the season, Leeds need clarity over their ownership before they consider how and with whom to replace Allardyce and Orta, a point the latter was keen to stress on Sunday.