'Lost the control of the club' - Andrea Radrizzani's assessment of what went wrong for him at Leeds United

The Italian businessman took control of the Whites in 2017, later relinquishing his control in 2023 to allow 49ers Enterprises to complete their takeover.

During his time at the head of the table, Leeds had some dramatic ups and downs and spent three years in the Premier League.

The club’s decline in the top flight and eventual relegation sparked anger towards the Leeds hierarchy and there was satisfaction in the fanbase when a takeover was finalised in 2023.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Radrizzani has spoken candidly about the difficulties faced towards the end of his time in West Yorkshire.

“I feel I've done six years in Leeds, of which five years and a half went very well,” he said. “I turned around a club that was in a, I wouldn't say a disaster, but it was not hoping for an ambitious time in the Premier League.

“It was mid-table in the Championship and we had done a great job taking back, particularly with the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa and the players.

“We had done a great job to achieve the Premier League, to maintain the category for three seasons and also outside of the pitch, I think we renovated the stadium, we re-engaged the city and the community with the club, so we have done a lot of good stuff.

“But, unfortunately, the last six months, I think for different reasons, I lost the day-to-day activity with the club, I lost the control of the club.

“Also, for other personal reasons, I relocated to Milan and all this, as a consequence, took the club back to the Championship and it was a very traumatic and difficult period of my life, professionally and also personally, so I'm very glad now things came back to where they should be. “

Leeds have bounced back under the control of the 49ers Enterprises, who installed Daniel Farke as their manager and retained faith in the German after his debut campaign ended in play-off heartbreak.

Farke has led Leeds to the Championship title, meaning the Whites will be back in the top flight for the first time since Radrizzani’s exit.

“It was an amazing period of my life,” Radrizzani said. “I did some mistakes at the end, but I always try to be genuine in my management and of course for me it was a business as well, a project.

“But I became a Leeds fan, my family, my brother, my nephew, my son also supports Leeds. They don't have a team in Italy, they suffer every weekend when Leeds play and we can't wait to go back to the stadium. So this is in our blood now and we keep going with that. “

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