‘Blank cheque’: Football finance expert delivers exciting verdict on QSI takeover & FFP at Leeds
Talk of a QSI takeover at Leeds United has been bubbling away all season and football finance expert Kevin Maguire has said it could lead to the manager getting a ‘blank cheque’ and signing who he wants.
The Times previously reported that Andrea Radrizzani had held talks with QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Following that, the Daily Star claimed that Leeds were on the brink of an initial £10m in investment with a full £120m takeover to follow.
MOT Leeds News revealed that QSI wanted to buy more of Leeds than Radrizzani was willing to sell at the time.
There’s been no investment in the January window and it looks like promotion to the Premier League could be the key behind a takeover being triggered.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire talked about a potential QSI takeover on the latest episode of his Price of Football podcast, and there was some fascinating insight into what it would mean for Leeds and how they might get round financial fair play in the Premier League.
Co-host Kevin Day said, “Leeds in the Premier League owned by QSI would be huge wouldn’t it?”
“In terms of the wealth of QSI, certainly, they are on a par with the Abu Dhabi United Group who own Man City and Abramovich at Chelsea,” Maguire said.
“It depends how they approach the financial fair play rules. The Premier League have been a bit coy and a bit vague as to the nature of the penalties.
“I’m aware of one Premier League club where there’s an owner behind the owner who is taking the view ‘I don’t care what it costs to progress the club to the next level, and if there’s a fine we’ll just take the fine’.
“In the EFL, one of the sanctions is a points deduction which acts as a big deterrent. We’re not sure what the Premier League would do.
“If it’s a fine, QSI could come in and could give the manager a blank cheque, like Abramovic with Mourinho, and say sign whoever you want and we’ll take the hit, and Man City did the same.
“Leeds fans won’t be complaining and if the Leeds fans are happy the owners will be happy.”
Asked how likely he thought the takeover was, Maguire said, “I’m always cautious to a degree, if you look at the ownership, they’re 10% owned by the San Francisco 49ers, would they be prepared to give up their shares? Who would be selling to who and what would the price be?”
Radrizzani has said himself that Leeds could compete with the financial firepower of Man City if the QSI takeover goes through.
Talk of a QSI takeover propelling Leeds into the Premier League elite is exciting, but Leeds need to secure promotion first.
That’s more in the balance now than it was a month ago, but Leeds are still second in the Championship and just one point off the top.
Leeds have signed winger Ian Poveda from Man City and look like they’re going to land striker Jean-Kevin Augustin. He could be the player who will provide the goals that could unlock promotion and possibly the money that will bring the big-time back to Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, Jean-Kevin Augustin reacts to Leeds fan on Twitter who urged ‘Get yourself to the airports’