Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed that ‘the size of the cheque’ matters most in a potential sale of Leeds United.
The Daily Mail has reported that the San Francisco 49ers’ takeover of Leeds ‘could face opposition’ from an unknown Middle Eastern group.
Currently, the 49ers are the sole minority shareholder of the club and hold a 44% stake in the club, while Andrea Radrizanni remains chairman.
TalkSport’s Simon Jordan recently praised Radrizanni for getting Leeds back into the Premier League, but believes that in order for them to stay up, they need an ‘ownership model change’.
And speaking to Football Insider, Maguire claims that ‘the most important thing’ in a potential sale will be the quantity of money given.
He stated: “As far as Leeds’ owners are concerned, the most important thing when handing over the keys will be the size of the cheque.
“That will be the ultimate driver in terms of negotiations, but the club does have a good relationship with SF 49ers’ investment arm.
“That has born fruit over time. It has allowed Leeds to tap into the marketing and communications expertise of the 49ers.
“What a Middle East group could offer is greater financial resources.
“Some Leeds fans might think this is better for the club having seen what has happened at both Man City and Newcastle on the back of substantial Middle East investment.”
TIF Thoughts on Maguire’s comments…
As the old saying goes, money talks, so if this Middle Eastern group can offer Leeds’ current owners a large fee to take the reins of the club, they may be happy to accept, judging by Maguire’s comments.
However, there’s certainly an elephant in the room when looking into this situation – mainly that the potential buyers are not named as of yet.
This is a concern as we have no idea how credible they are and whether or not they’re suitable to be in charge of a big club such as the Whites.
Leeds fans will not want this to be a case of all flash and no substance, as under their current ownership, the club are ‘reliant’ on their shareholders to fund transfers, which is very much the case for Georginio Rutter, who is now their all-time record transfer fee at £35.2 million.
Whether it’s the 49ers or the unnamed Middle Eastern outfit, you would imagine there will be more optimism around Elland Road if they could compete in future transfer markets on a consistent basis.