Galatasaray midfielder says Marcelo Bielsa wanted to reunite with him at Leeds United

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Marcelo Bielsa remains an icon among Leeds United supporters and would have remained in the job a whole lot longer had the Argentine been backed by then-owner Andrea Radrizzani.

Radrizzani admitted he made a mistake in sacking Bielsa last weekend. But the Italian seemed to forget that the reason Bielsa couldn’t take Leeds further in his fourth season was due to a lack of investment.

Leeds had gone from mid-table Championship obscurity to ninth in the Premier League, and in the summer of 2021, investment was needed. But only Junior Firpo and Dan James were added to the squad.

Bielsa needed more, and despite the miraculous job he had done, he didn’t get what was required to maintain Leeds at that level. Ultimately and inevitably, Leeds dropped off and Bielsa was made to pay.

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Mario Lemina claims Marcelo Bielsa wanted him at Leeds

Before Leeds but after making his name in Argentina and Spain, Bielsa moved to France and enjoyed a largely successful stint with Marseille. He left after finishing fourth at the end of the 2014-15 season.

One of his players was Mario Lemina, a Gabon international who would go on to play for Juventus, Southampton, Fulham and Wolves in the Premier League and then to Leeds’ rivals Galatasaray.

Still with the Turkish side, Lemina told French outlet So Foot this week that he was completely re-educated about football under Bielsa. He even says Bielsa wanted to reunite with him at Leeds United.

“With Bielsa, I was one of his protégés. Giannelli Imbula, Benjamin Mendy, Brice Samba, Florian Thauvin. We were a crazy team, we learned too much with this coach. It’s as if we were still at school,” he said.

“He had no shame in saying in front of everyone that I was an extraordinary player, it was rewarding coming from a coach like that. Afterwards, he wanted to bring me back to Leeds United,” Lemina claims.

The midfielders signed during Bielsa’s Premier League era…

Leeds were promoted, boasting a midfield of Kalvin Phillips, Mateusz Klich, and Stuart Dallas. Little improvement was needed or required in the summer of 2020, but Rodrigo often dropped into midfield.

With James and Firpo the only additions in 2021, along with the permanent signing of Jack Harrison, the midfield was not improved for the first two seasons that Leeds were in the Premier League.

The midfielders bought by Leeds during Premier League era between 2020 and 2023:

Then, following Bielsa’s sacking, Marc Roca, Tyler Adams, and flop Weston McKennie were all brought in. Typically, all three have left. Adams earned a chorus of boos and jeers at Elland Road earlier this season.

Clearly, Leeds needed legs in the middle of the park during Bielsa’s era in the Premier League, having failed to sign a single central midfielder in that time. Lemina might have been a worthwhile addition.