(Football news) The investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, 49ers Enterprises are reportedly keen on taking full control of Premier League club Leeds United in a deal that could cost upwards of £500m. The NHL franchise increased their stake at the club based in Elland Road to 44% last month while chairman Andrea Radrizzani and his company Aser remain majority stakeholders.
Radrizzani initially took over 50% of the stake at Leeds United in January 2017 before taking 100% control by buying the remaining shares from former co-owner Massimo Cellino in May of the same year. He then proceeded to buy the stadium Elland Road in June 2017 through his Singapore based company Greenfield Investment, almost 13 years after the club was forced to be sold to pay off debts and was relegated from the Premier League.
President of 49ers Enterprises and vice-chairman of Leeds United Paraag Marathe previously said in an interview that fans should “trust the intentions” of the owners and reiterated his commitment towards making Leeds "one of the biggest clubs in the world". San Francisco 49ers are currently owned by American billionaire Denise DeBartolo York and her family who have a 90% stake in the franchise which is currently valued at $3.5 billion. According to Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani, his partnership with the 49ers Enterprises will be a key factor for the club to become a major force in English and European football.
Speaking at a Web Summit event in Lisbon, Radrizzani said “Now we are partnered with 49ers, this is fundamentally very important because it will be very difficult to stay in the Premier League, but if we stay in it this year I think we can go much more than last year and go into the top six. Start to renovate the stadium and continue to grow the value of this club”.
Leeds United are currently 15th in the Premier League table and have a few difficult fixtures against Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool in the next few weeks.
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