OPINION
During the last decade-and-a-half, Leeds United fans have got very used to erratic owners falling foul of the law and and the football authorities.
They had hoped Andrea Radrizzani would be more solid, lower maintenance and have the ambition and money to back up the big talk.
In many ways, the Italian businessman has lived up to expectations, particularly through the masterstroke appointment of Marcelo Bielsa, re-purchasing Elland Road and overseeing an overhaul of the youth set-up.
Yet, the warning signs are flashing that not everything in the garden of the Leeds owner is entirely rosy.
The problem is his own businesses are in troubled waters and the knock-on effect for the Yorkshire giants is that the money well could run dry.
According to Bloomberg in a bombshell report on Wednesday evening, Radrizzani is being sued for £760million by Chinese investors after the sports right company he founded collapsed in October of last year due to unpaid debts.
The financial site claim the consortium, including state-owned Everbright Securities Co., have filed a claim in the High Court in London, alleging commercial fraud against MP & Silva founders Radrizzani and Riccardo Silva.
While there is no evidence of impropriety from the Leeds owner at this stage, and the lawsuit is merely an allegation, it spells danger for the club.
This is not the first time Radrizzani has been caught in a business storm this season, following the troubles of sports streaming service Eleven Sports at the end of last year.
At the time, the word coming from Leeds was that Radrizzani’s business crisis would not affect the club.
Yet, the financial pages of the national and international press would have left Leeds fans deeply alarmed.
What happens if the club fail to secure promotion at the end of the season and the massive windfall that it would generate? Does that mean Radrizzani has to sell up? Or, worse, dip into Leeds’ assets to fund his other business losses?
Radrizzani has hardly been in the same category as Fosun, the Chinese owners who backed Wolves to the hilt in the Championship and on their Premier League return.
But he has pulled off enough smart moves to leave Massimo Cellino and Ken Bates as comfortably top of the tree when it comes to despised and unpopular Leeds honchos.
News of the lawsuit is a massive concern for all Whites.