MOT View: Leeds fans should be thrilled as US investors in talks with Radrizzani over fresh cash
The San Francisco 49ers are in talks to increase their investment in Leeds United.
The standout news, delivered in the New York Times, hasn’t got the attention that it should from Leeds fans, who have been waiting for news about investment from QSI.
“It’s something that we are absolutely hoping to do,” Paraag Marathe – 49ers executive and Leeds United board member – said in the NYT.
The reason for the lack of interest from Leeds fans is that the 49ers have flown under the radar at Leeds since buying their 10% stake.
However, they’ve not been completely passive investors, with the NYT reporting that Marathe was over at Elland Road every 4-5 weeks before lockdown.
And one quote from Marathe should prove to Leeds fans that the 49ers could be the very best partners at the moment.
“You don’t want to just rush and go high — ‘Every player out now; we’re a Premier League club’ — and buy this and this and this player,” Marathe said. “Sometimes you want to build it organically and thoughtfully.”
This isn’t the time for unknowns at Leeds, this is the time for continuity and that’s what investment from the 49ers would equal.
Leeds aren’t going to rush out and buy superstars this summer. Who would want this Leeds squad ripped apart and replaced by players who are more interested in their wages?
First comes the consolidation and Andrea Radrizzani has already said he wants to follow the Sheffield United model before looking to break into the upper echelons of the Premier League.
We think this is entirely the right way to do things – although it’s not as spectacular a strategy as some fans would be hoping for.
The 49ers are the perfect partner in this respect, happy to let Radrizzani, Angus Kinnear, Victor Orta and Marcelo Bielsa run the club, while helping with its own expertise in growing a global sports brand.
MOT Leeds News columnist Paul Robinson has said that either the 49ers or QSI would be brilliant partners, with both having expertise both in global business and sports brands.
We want Radrizzani and Bielsa to stay at Leeds and we think that happens under the 49ers. QSI? We’re not so sure.
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