Leeds strike agreement worth £1.2m+ with Champions League club
Leeds have their sights set on becoming a financial powerhouse now they’re back in the Premier League.
49ers Enterprises have managed to the Yorkshire club’s accounts very well since rising to power at Elland Road despite spending two seasons in the Championship.
Leeds cashed in when the time was right on players like Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville, allowing them to stay within the EFL’s PSR margins while maintaining a high-quality squad that boasts the likes of Joel Piroe, Willy Gnonto, Daniel James, Joe Rodon, Jayden Bogle and Ao Tanaka.
With promotion back to the Premier League won by the way of winning the 2024/25 Championship title, the 49ers now have the remit of ploughing more investment into the squad in order to stay in the top flight on a more permanent basis than last time.
Leeds have agreement in place with Manchester United
Leeds haven’t dove straight into their summer business just yet.
However, they have snapped up agreements with Manchester United and Villarreal to play the two sides in potentially lucrative pre-season friendlies.
It was announced in March that Leeds will be playing rivals Man United in Stockholm on 19 July.
| 2023/24 | 2022/23 | |
| Gate receipts | £30.6m | £29.9m |
| Broadcasting | £53.6m | £111.5m |
| Merchandising | £25.4m | £24m |
| Commercial | £43.3m | £48.2m |
It’ll be played at the Strawberry Arena, Scandinavia’s biggest stadium that can seat at least 50,000 people.
With Leeds’ links to that part of the world and Man United’s ability to attract a crowd anywhere, it’ll no doubt be a sell-out and bank a lot of money for the West Yorkshire side.
Leeds have it all in their own hands when Villarreal visit Elland Road though.
It was announced on Friday (23 May) that Leeds will face the La Liga club in West Yorkshire on 2 August, two weeks before the 2025/26 Premier League season kicks off.
How much do Leeds make from pre-season friendlies?
Leeds published in their most recent set of accounts that they generated £30.6million in matchday revenue for the 2023/24 season.
On top of their 23 home Championship games, Leeds also played once in the FA Cup and once in the Carabao Cup at Elland Road, without any pre-season friendlies being played there.
That means that, on average, United earned just over £1.2million per game as a Championship club.
Leeds are now a Premier League club though, so that figure is bound to shoot through the roof with some season tickets for next season being 14 per cent more expensive [LUST].
On top of that, there’ll be more room to charge a premium for matchday hospitality as the number of home league games reduces by four and the demand for tickets rises even more due to the attraction of the Premier League.
Away attendances will no doubt be bigger, too. There won’t be a smattering of Plymouth or Preston fans in the away end now. It’ll be a shock if there are ever any empty seats in the Premier League games.
Leeds’ deal with Villarreal is at least worth £1.2million to them and with the club shop selling new home kits and other merchandise ahead of the new season, that matchday revenue could soar further.