Paraag Marathe quizzed on ‘insane’ Leeds United story as he reveals all
Leeds United are one of the biggest clubs in football.
Not many will understand that until they have experienced life at Elland Road, and even after hard recent times in the top three tiers of English football, it remains the same.
Daniel Farke is currently tasked with keeping Leeds in the Premier League, but the main goals go way beyond that under the 49ers Enterprises.
Leeds’ 4-0 defeat against Arsenal was a reality check, ahead of another huge month of action.
But, Paraag Marathe is looking way beyond that.
Paraag Marathe answers insane Leeds United question
Marathe became Leeds chairman in 2023, but had been involved alongside Andrea Radrizzani at the time since 2018.
There has been an invasion of American ownership in the Premier League that is sweeping through the pyramid, but there isn’t a clear reason why.
Quizzed on stage by Men in Blazers, the host quizzed Marathe on that, saying: “What on earth gave you the mad idea that you would go to planets unknown, to the other football.
“What was the allure, the interest, the motivation, because it’s slightly insane.”
Marathe admitted that Jed York wanted his team to use the 49ers as a platform, and that has widened to Leeds and now Rangers in Scotland.
“We started this seven or eight years ago,” Marathe started.
“European football was where we wanted to go next. We looked at 86 clubs across Europe over an 18-24 month period, and the one that so obviously had the chance to be the brightest star in the sky was Leeds United.
“That’s because it reminded us and me so much of what the 49ers were when I first started, the 49ers that had five Super Bowls in the eighties and nineties, all this great success.“
What else did Paraag Marathe say about Leeds United?
When a new owner comes into a traditional football club, they must learn about its history and everything that comes with it.
Marathe acted quickly to make sure Leeds fans took to him, and for the most part, it has certainly worked.
“Looking at Leeds, they had all of these great European cups and almost championships in the seventies and again in the nineties, but fell on hard times,” he added.
“They went through multiple ownership groups and got relegated twice, but because of that historic success, they had this massive global fanbase like a sleeping giant just begging for somebody to come in and polish up the diamond.”
So, just how are the 49ers doing with Leeds?
After a very quiet winter transfer window that saw Facundo Buonanotte become the only signing on loan from Brighton, all eyes are on the relegation dogfight.
Leeds are six points clear of West Ham in the final relegation place, but face a huge game against Nottingham Forest on Friday evening.
Win that, and the Whites are nine points clear of the bottom three but also have space to Forest, who are below them.
The likes of Crystal Palace and Tottenham above them could also start to panic.
Either way, Marathe’s goal of taking Leeds back to the very top will only work if they secure consistent Premier League football, so relegation isn’t an option right now.