Stephen Warnock spent two years at Leeds United and was well-liked by supporters and was even made captain before being sold to Derby County in January 2015. Midway through his spell at Elland Road, the ex-Liverpool defender watched on as Leeds were taken over by the King of corn, Massimo Cellino – and it is clear what Warnock thinks of him with a post on Instagram.
Warnock agreed a contract until the summer of 2015 when he joined Leeds in January 2013, and clocked up 67 appearances in all competitions for the Yorkshire side. Cellino took over midway through that spell, and is renowned for his impulsive sacking of managers, selling Paddy Kenny for wearing the number 17 shirt and even blessing the Elland Road pitch with the help of a priest.
Cellino’s tight stronghold of the club’s coffers even saw players forced to bring in their own lunches. Eventually, Warnock left the club and although he has previously stated he wished he got promoted with Leeds, he had enough of life at Elland Road under Cellino. Six months before his contract ended, he moved to Derby. Now 39, Warnock is a successful pundit on BBC Sport and Sky Sports.
Hosting a Q&A session on his Instagram story, a supporter asked what he thought of Italian entrpreneur Cellino – and unsurprisingly, Warnock gave a brief but perfect description of a man that saw Leeds become a laughing stock under his guidance: “Not much”.
Fortunately, Leeds are in much better hands now. Bought by Andrea Radrizzani – doubts were initially had over the fact he was also Italian and had never been in football ownership beforehand. But he re-bought Elland Road, spent millions in the transfer window and has since seen Leeds gain promotion back to the Premier League.
Warnock may be thinking that he wished his time at Leeds came under Radrizzani’s stewardship.
