Andrea Radrizzani’s legacy at Leeds United is mixed, it is fair to say. But the sour end to the outspoken Italian businessman’s time at Elland Road did not deter him from investing further in football.
Flush with the £170m he earned for selling his stake in Leeds to 49ers Enterprises, Radrizzani went on to buy historic Italian side Sampdoria in May last year.
A takeover of Brazilian club Vasco Da Gama is also reportedly on the cards, with the recently vanquished Copa Libertadores finalists the subject of a bidding war between four prospective investors.
Radrizzani left Leeds under a cloud after, following a series of recruitment missteps and ill-considered managerial appointments, Leeds were relegated to the Championship at the end of 2022-23.
Chairman Angus Kinnear has said Radrizzani should have sold to the 49ers earlier so as to preserve his reputation at Leeds, where he was the first owner in 16 years to steer them into the Premier League.
He himself will surely be regretting not pulling the trigger sooner too, with 49ers ultimately taking over a club with Premier League credentials for a cut price.
While they were forced into a series of big-name player sales in the summer to comply with EFL spending rules, Leeds have one of the biggest budgets in the Championship.
In 2019-20, the last season that Leeds were in the second tier for which financial data has been published, the West Yorkshire side had the highest income of any team not in receipt of parachute payments.
This season and last, turnover has been supplemented by parachute payments. When Leeds release their accounts for 2023-24, they could well detail record turnover for a Championship club.
However, the 49ers and new co-investors Red Bull think Leeds can generate far greater revenues.
Media income remains far and away their single biggest source of income for most Championship and Premier League clubs and, in light of developments in recent days, could be set to soar in years to come.
3pm blackout to be scrapped, Leeds United poised to break finance record
If Leeds are promoted this season, their media income will jump from around £10-15m in the Championship to £100m-plus in the Premier League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 11 | 16 | 39 |
| 2 |  LeedsLeeds | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 13 | 20 | 38 |
| 3 |  BurnleyBurnley | 19 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 7 | 17 | 37 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 36 |
| 5 |  MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 33 | 22 | 11 | 31 |
| 6 |  BlackburnBlackburn | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 31 |
The Premier League’s complement of TV deals are worth over £10bn over the current rights cycle, with the international rights outstepping the value of the fees paid by domestic broadcasters.
The value of the rights has continued to grow in spite of predictions otherwise, and the Premier League’s shareholders – its clubs – are constantly looking at ways to expand the pot.
One often mooted initiative is to abandon the Saturday 3pm blackout so as to be able to offer domestic broadcasters more games as a package, thus creating more value
The EFL has gone down this route in their latest TV deal, which has dramatically increased the number of televised games. Leeds will likely be the division’s biggest earners under the new setup.
Now, according to The Times, both the EFL and Premier League are considering lifting the FA-applied blackout that has been in place since the 1960s in time for the next rights cycle, starting in 2028.
Critics argue that blackout is anachronistic, while campaigners to retain the blackout insist that its original purpose – to preserve attendances in the lower leagues – is still a pressing concern.
Either way, the abolition of the blackout would surely increase the value of the broadcast rights, meaning Leeds would almost certainly eclipse the record £132.8m they earned in media income in 2020-21.
What has Andrea Radrizzani said about the Saturday 3pm blackout?
Radrizzani has been one of the blackouts biggest critics.
As the former owner of Eleven Sports, which he sold in 2022 to DAZN, where he now sits on the board, the 50-year-old has more interest than most about the rules surrounding football’s media sphere.
In 2018, Eleven Sports challenged the 3pm moratorium, airing European matches during the blackout.
They eventually backed down, but not without a parting shot at what they and Radrizzani clearly think is an outdated system.
“Out of respect for the wishes of our partners, we will, for the time being, no longer show matches during the Saturday afternoon blackout period,” Eleven Sports said in an official statement at the time, as quoted by SBC.
“The blackout is one of the biggest generators of piracy in the UK. These games are very easily accessed on illegal sites online and it is naïve to think that fans do not want them because they are not shown on legitimate platforms, except betting sites.”
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