Los Angeles Clippers point guard Westbrook has followed American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in becoming a minor stakeholder in Leeds.

The 34-year-old said at a sports and entertainment summit held by Sportico: “I was lucky enough to have conversations with some of the partners in this deal, who already have ownership, the 49ers.

“So I was lucky enough to talk through that with friends, talking with my business partner as well about different things and having conversations, figuring out if this was the right deal and how we could make it different.”

Russell Westbrook #0 of the LA Clippers argues a foul call in front of Bones Hyland #5 during a 112-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns during Game Four of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. He has just revealed he is investing in Leeds United (Picture: Harry How/Getty Images)

Who is Russell Westbrook?

Westbrook, according to Forbes, is the 14th highest-paid athlete in the world.

He was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008 and alongside James Harden and Kevin Durant took a small-market team all the way to the NBA Finals in 2012 where they lost to the Miami Heat team of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.

Also that year he helped the United States basketball team win gold at the London 2012 Olympics.

Russell Westbrook is a former NBA MVP (Picture: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Westbrook was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (the highest individual honour in a season) in 2017.

He left the Thunder in 2019 and has been on four different teams since, Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers

Westbrook, who signed with the Clippers from the Los Angeles Lakers in February, is a nine-time NBA All-Star.

Other big-name investors

Leeds United investor Russell Westbrook in action for the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA (Picture: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Three-time major winner Spieth has confirmed he and Thomas had become minority stakeholders in Leeds earlier this week, but fellow golfer Rickie Fowler pulled out of a deal when the club were relegated from the Premier League in May.

Westbrook becomes the second NBA player to announce his investment interest in Leeds United following Larry Nance Jnr, 30, of the New Orleans Pelicans.

He changed his profile picture on Twitter to an image of himself inside Elland Road with a Leeds shirt on then followed up the picture change with a tweet confirming his involvement in the takeover.

He tweeted: “Thrilled and honoured to be part of the ownership group that has taken over @LUFC. This club and its supporters deserve the world and we’ll do everything we can to give them just that. Marching on together!”

Takeover latest

Leeds’ joint-owners 49ers Enterprises, the financial arm of NFL franchise San Francisco 49ers, have bought former chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s majority 56 per cent shareholding.

The English Football League is currently carrying out its owners and directors test before it sanctions the 49ers’ full takeover.

Leeds United's newest investor: Russell Westbrook the high-profile NBA star who played with the Los Angeles Lakers