Leeds United: ‘Scandalous’ April development to compound Andrea Radrizzani misery with £300million-plus hit
It’s certainly been a bad couple of weeks for Leeds United in a financial sense with a number of issues coming to light.
It seems to be one thing after another for Andrea Radrizzani at present with the Jean-Kevin Augustin saga, Leeds’ accounts being released, and recent news about the 49ers all combining to make the Italian’s life a misery.
The three issues could all cause him to fork out some serious cash during the summer in what could be a crippling blow personally.
This year was meant to be a positive one for Leeds, with the American enterprises taking control of the Yorkshire club in January 2024, and Radrizzani gradually phasing himself out of proceedings.
However, April has proven to be a difficult one to navigate. The Whites’ accounts were published at Companies House earlier in the month (8 April) and some of the figures were fairly alarming. Firstly, if Leeds avoid relegation, the club will have to pay over £45million in bonuses.
Furthermore, the accounts revealed that Leeds paid £15.5million to RB Leipzig for Jean-Kevin Augustin, but that payment was only the start of the saga.
The Athletic then reported (10 April) that Leeds must also pay £24.5million direct to the 25-year-old forward who featured just three times at Elland Road. The whole issue could see the Whites pay over £40million, and it’s a scenario which has been brandished “scandalous” by Neil Moxley (Sunday People, pg 47, 16 April).
To compound Radrizzani’s terrible April, the Daily Mail report (18 April) that the Leeds owner could lose out on £270million if the club is relegated.
Obviously, the riches of the Premier League far outweigh the £45million in bonuses that the club have already committed should they survive. But, should Leeds go down – coupled with the Augustin saga – Radrizzani could well be looking at over £300million-plus lost.
The pressure is now firmly on Javi Gracia to work a miracle and save the Yorkshire side, and also save Radrizzani’s bank account.
In other Leeds United news, here’s what our exclusive pundit had to say on the Jean-Kevin Augustin saga at Elland Road.