49ers Enterprises likely cheesed off by Andrea Radrizzani news at Leeds United – Kieran Maguire
Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani would have “cheesed off” 49ers Enterprises over his assumption he had precedence in the seniority of the ownership of Elland Road, according to finance expert Kieran Maguire.
Radrizzani came in for a fan backlash when a report from the Athletic’s Adam Crafton last week suggested the Italian had attempted to use Leeds’ home as collateral in order to secure a loan to complete the purchase of relegated Serie A side Sampdoria.
Maguire, speaking on The Price of Football podcast (5 June, 9.00), explained how friends in the legal sector believed this move would not have stuck, as there was no way the 49ers would have agreed.
“What Adam had found was a document that is called ‘head of terms’, now ‘head of terms’ is a proposal it’s not a legally binding document,” Maguire began.
“And this was to be what we refer to as a ‘first mortgage’. Now a business can have five or six mortgages from five or six different lenders, so therefore you have what’s referred to as a waterfall, there’s a level of seniority in terms of should something happen to the business who gets what and when.
“That seemed okay-ish, then if you go into the paperwork of Elland Road limited, the 49ers themselves have a mortgage so I’m thinking ‘well hold on, if I’d lent money to Elland Road Limited I would be extremely cheesed off if someone came in and said they were a more senior lender, that they’d got priority’.
“And talking to people who talk to people, who talk to people, it turns out the 49ers, who let’s face it the 49ers own a significant portion of Leeds United, they haven’t been consulted in regards to this, this has gone completely over their heads.
“My understanding, talking to some of our friends in the legal profession, is the attempt to give this loan first mortgage or seniority status would have failed anyway because there’s no way the 49ers would agree.
“But by all accounts the first time the lender, the significant shareholder, knew about this potential loan was when a journalist rang up and said ‘what do you make of this then?’ and the letters WTF were expanded on.
“It just seems ludicrous.”
No way back for Radrizzani
Leeds United supporters were already reeling from the end of a desperately disappointing campaign on the pitch, which ended in a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham to confirm their relegation to the Championship.
A season of poor performances on the pitch was the result of poor planning and recruitment off it, something that ultimately led to the departure of director of football Victor Orta.
But, just days later, the ire of the fans really came to the fore by the Athletic report and the news Radrizzani was gambling the future of Elland Road to help him try and acquire another football team.
It was a move that any football fan, regardless of their personal feelings towards Leeds, should wholeheartedly condemn – a football club’s stadium is not a business plaything.
Whether Radrizzani does eventually sell up his remaining shares to the 49ers remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, there is absolutely no way back for the Italian and his relationship with the Leeds faithful.
In other Leeds United news, Brenden Aaronson has dropped a hint about his future at Elland Road.