Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Phil Hay has responded to a report on potential investments in Leeds United, claiming that owner Andrea Radrizzani is not willing to sell another stake at this time.
A report from the Financial Times suggests that a government-backed sports investment company from Qatar – the same one that owns PSG – is looking to make their first foray into the English game at Elland Road, but Hay has suggested that the current owner will not entertain the interest.
Writing on his personal Twitter, Hay said: “Interest from Qatar is real but message from Leeds end is that Radrizzani won’t be selling another stake at this stage.”
Been up in Glasgow all day but have asked about this tonight. Interest from Qatar is real but message from Leeds end is that Radrizzani won’t be selling another stake at this stage:https://t.co/KfZ5ZgoSF4
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) May 25, 2019
OPINION
Difficult to know how to feel about this one. On the one hand, you have the prospect of billionaire owners rocking up at Elland Road and turning United into a financial superpower a la PSG or Manchester City, on the other, if something is too good to be true, it tends to be too good to be true. Hay says the interest is real, which is one thing, but you can’t help feeling a little bit suspicious. For starters, this doesn’t appear to be a case of the Qatari company buying the club outright, but rather them snapping up a stake and investing from there. It is perhaps understandable why Radrizzani is unwilling to do that. Once you start auctioning off stakes left, right, and centre, you risk fracturing the club, and after years of turmoil, what Leeds need now is stability. That being said, money talks in the modern game, and there will probably be a fair few fans salivating at the prospect of superrich investors in Yorkshire.