Leeds United takeover: Andrea Radrizzani future looks clear amid rumours around £3billion-valued figure in Italy
Andrea Radrizzani is looking more and more likely to remain in charge at Leeds United with the club facing relegation and the prospect of a bid for Inter becoming more distant.
The Italian has a deal in place to sell his share of the Whites to 49ers Enterprises this summer in a move thought to be worth as much as £500million, but the agreement no longer applies in its current form if the club goes down.
With Everton and Nottingham Forest winning in a shock Monday set of results (8 May) Sam Allardyce’s improbable task got much harder, with Leeds United left 19th in the league, two points from safety, with a game against Newcastle next up on Saturday (13 May).
Bloomberg reported on April 13, when the Whites were two points and places outside of the drop zone and the wheels were only just coming off, that Radrizzani was considering a €1billion bid for the Champions League semi-finalists if his sale goes through.
That is obviously looking more perilous by the game in the Premier League, but the competition to buy the Serie A giants is developing after Gianfelice Mario Rocca, chairman of Techint steel group, was tipped to take over in a widely shared report from Il Giornale in Italy on Tuesday (9 May), as per Eurosport.
According to Forbes‘s 2022 list of billionaires Gianfelice and brother Paolo were worth $3.9billion [£3.09billion], and while the company has reportedly denied the interest [FC Inter News, 9 May] it looks to have laid bare Radrizzani’s position.
Reacting to the suggestion Rocca was looking to take over, Inter Live suggest that the Leeds United chairman has already withdrawn from the race in the face of high demands from current Inter president Steven Zhang.
And without the major windfall of over £300million the Whites chief would be due this summer he is in no place to get involved in a takeover for the Italian side.
As his liabilities at Elland Road become more restrictive with time running out on the relegation battle, it looks like the conversation is moving on without him with regards to an Inter takeover, as just one of his grand plans that will have to be put on hold if Big Sam’s side can’t escape.
In other Leeds United news, the 49ers have been mooted to return to the table with new money backing them if they club goes down.