50-year-old once evicted from Elland Road makes £200m bid to buy PL club – report
Massimo Cellino’s former lawyer Chris Farnell has joined up with Egyptian entrepreneur Mohamed Elkashashy to make a £200million bid for Burnley, according to The Athletic.
Leeds United fans will remember Farnell, 50, from his previous time at Elland Road which ended in February 2014 when he was evicted by GFH managing director David Haigh [Daily Mail].
Cheshire-based sports lawyer Farnell now looks as though he’s closing in on a return to football after his bid to buy Burnley reportedly “cleared a significant regulatory hurdle”.
US-based sports investment firm ALK Capital had been leading the way to buy Burnley but talks with the North-West club’s main shareholders Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz stalled.
Farnell jumped the gun in 2014 when he fired manager Brian McDermott before Cellino completed a deal to become the main shareholder at Leeds.
Farnell has recently had issues with becoming a director in English football as in August, he failed the English Football League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test. However, The Athletic claims that he has been “successful in overturning a ban” from becoming a director, which appears to have clearly a major obstacle in his bid to buy Burnley alongside Elkashashy.
His time at Elland Road in 2014 is one blemish on what is a fairly impressive CV.
He has reportedly represented boxer Tyson Fury, Roberto Martinez and Cristiano Ronaldo when he was with Manchester United. The potential new Burnley chief has also held a brief role as director at Wigan in 2013.
It remains to be seen how all this pans out but £200million for Burnley seems like a lot of money for a club that doesn’t really have any high-profile players and is one of the smallest clubs in the Premier League (no disrespect intended).
The season may only be in it’s embryonic stages but the Clarets seem as though they could be in a relegation battle and who would want to spend £200million on a Championship club?
Andrea Radrizzani only paid £45million to buy Leeds from Cellino in 2017.
In other Leeds United news, LUTV host Emma Jones has mocked Gabriel Agbonlahor.