Phil Hay reacts to Leeds United controversy pre San Francisco 49ers takeover

Phil Hay believes that putting Elland Road as collateral for a loan to buy a new club after Leeds United was a step too far by Andrea Radrizzani.

The Athletic journalist revealed on Tuesday (12 September) that it was the straw that broke the camel's back with the San Francisco 49ers deciding to go ahead with the takeover.

While Radrizzani initially thought of retaining an initial stake, this ensured that there was no chance of that happening.

Hay wrote, "The idea of Elland Road as bank loan collateral was a line in the sand for 49ers Enterprises. The fund had no idea about it and if there was any remaining thought that its takeover of Leeds would go ahead with Radrizzani retaining some form of influence or shareholding, the controversy over the stadium was a step too far. The buyout was agreed 11 days later. Radrizzani would leave in the wake of Orta cutting ties, the whole thing a busted flush."

Shocking

In hindsight, it's good that Radrizzani tried such a stunt as it exposed just what kind of a person he is.

For someone who claims to love the club, the Italian would never do such a thing but it was clear that he wanted to take Leeds down with him.

The 49ers saw this and thus decided to get him out completely as if he would retain a small stake, he would still wield some influence.

His recent tirade on Twitter against Angus Kinnear, supposedly his guy, suggests that there was no real unity behind the scenes at Elland Road.

Hopefully, Kinnear now acts like a more serious CEO under the 49ers and does a good job taking the club to the next direction.

This summer has gone well in terms of the incomings and it remains to be seen how it impacts the team on the field of play.

In other Leeds United news, a Whites player now faces over 12 weeks out of action due to injury if the worst-case scenario takes place.