Leeds United’s divisive former owner Andrea Radrizzani is planning to return to Elland Road in the near future, with the West Ham United game on the horizon.
Andrea Radrizzani was the owner and majority shareholder of Leeds United from May 2017 until July 2023, having initially bought 50% of the club in the January of 2017 from Massimo Cellino.
It was a largely successful period to begin with, especially after bringing Marcelo Bielsa in as head coach, with Leeds winning promotion to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence. Since then, Radrizzani has admitted sacking Bielsa was a mistake.
It was perhaps an error, even if Jesse Marsch then kept them up in 2022. Recently, Radrizzani also spoke out on Marsch’s time with the club. Prior to that, he made other important decisions, such as buying back Elland Road and allowing the club ownership of its stadium
Leeds United fans react to Andrea Radrizzani’s return against West Ham
Despite the relegation in 2023, the decision to appoint Bielsa and own Elland Road for the first time since 2004 were popular ones. He eventually sold his controlling stake to 49ers Enterprises in 2023, shortly after the club was relegated from the Premier League.
He was not involved in the club at this stage, but Radrizzani has spoken out on Daniel Farke and the new majority shareholders’ decision to appoint him. On the whole, that dragged out process meant that he departed the club on an even more sour note.
It’s over two years since Radrizzani last stepped foot inside Elland Road but he is planning a return, per the Daily Mail. It’s during Leeds’ next home game as well, with West Ham United ‘pencilled in’.
Fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to the news. One said: “That joyful he tried to use elland road as collateral. Hes never been able to read the room nobody wants him anywhere near this club let alone elland road. So you can shove your exclusive up your arse with the greatest of respect.”
One fan simply said: “Nah”, while another added: “Not welcome.”
Another stated: “Always someone else’s fault with this guy….is he welcome back at Elland road? Leeds back in the PL despite his incompetence Bielsa got us promoted and got screwed over by this clown and his little mates!”
A further response read: “He made 2 mistakes during his time at the club and it rightly will tarnish his reign. – Not backing Bielsa – Sacking Bielsa The biggest for me was not backing him after finishing 9th. The players we were linked to and had in the squad, could have really stabilised us.”
It appears most fans won’t be too welcoming for the game on Friday the 24th October. Radrizzani may be thinking twice about it if he has seen the reaction online so far.
Andrea Radrizzani’s view of Marcelo Bielsa and spygate
Radrizzani spoke about spygate as well which came during his recent interview. He said:“I was in the car when I got the call to tell me the police found someone, and I could not believe it.
“I was worried, then angry, but in the end it was so entertaining that I loved it. I didn’t like the reaction of the media because it wasn’t that [bad]. We had a lot of enemies in the end. I guess you either love or hate Leeds.”
However, the incident did not impact his relationship with Bielsa, and Radrizzani hopes to see the former Leeds boss soon. He added: “I lost contact with Marcelo, but I would love to see him at the World Cup next year.”
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