A lot has been made of Leeds United owners the 49ers launching a possible investment into Rangers.
Paraag Marathe is seemingly at the heart of this, as fans might question why he’s actually doing it.
It’s become apparent that Marathe believes Rangers’ solid fanbase is a good foundation to build on hence why talks are seemingly getting underway.
Leeds fans are convinced that Rangers are part of the 49ers’ multi-club model as they look to follow the footsteps of Man City.
Marathe’s comments a few weeks ago may give a reason as to why these talks are happening.
What Leeds United owner Paraag Marathe said amid Rangers talks
It’s a strange prospect for Leeds fans who are used to seeing their club work alone.
However, Rangers and Leeds will work together in what could form a solid collaboration in a potential multi-club model, although that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Marathe has hindered to what he likes to do with his ventures, as speaking on the Sports Geek Replay podcast, the Leeds owner described how he likes to grow businesses.
“The fundamental thing that’s changed with professional sports teams on and off the pitch is professional sports teams are no longer run as lemonade stands,” Marathe said.
“They are no longer just about the football team, or the baseball team, or the soccer team, or whatever it is, it’s now run as a business, right, as a big Fortune 50, Fortune 500 type of business.
“That means you need to get as much value as you can and minimising risk as much as you can, both on the field of the players and also in the business.
“And I think that’s what you’re seeing is, you know, every sports organization is now building up their own business analytics, sometimes, they call it business intelligence, sometimes business strategy, sometimes business operations.”
It’s an extremely bold move from Marathe and the 49ers at Leeds
Yes, it’s confusing, yes it’s ambitious, but the key takeover has to be how bold it is from the 49ers to make this move.
As beforementioned, Leeds are a standalone club, not venturing elsewhere, but Marathe’s plans look like they’re heading the way of emulating Man City, especially as he looks to expand Leeds’ scouting network with RedBull.
The worry from an outside point of view looks to be how this will affect Leeds, and at the moment there aren’t any real signs it will.
However, with Rangers’ potential and being in Europe, this could eclipse how Marathe will handle Leeds in future scenarios.
If this pays off, Marathe will be hailed as a hero, but if it doesn’t Leeds could find themselves in a tricky position.
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