Andrea Radrizzani is now at a point of no return at Leeds United following reports he attempted to use Elland Road as security for a bank loan in his pursuit of Sampdoria.
According to the Athletic, Radrizzani made an agreement in principle to use Leeds’ stadium as ‘collateral’ as part of a deal for his company Aser and bidding partner Gestio Capital to lend £25.8 million from an Italian bank to help provide the necessary funds needed to complete his takeover.
Radrizzani finalised his purchase of Sampdoria earlier this week and it is said that even Angus Kinnear, San Francisco 49ers Enterprises and other members of Leeds‘ board were unaware of the 48-year-old’s offer to use Elland Road.
After numerous days of silence following the club’s relegation on Sunday, Radrizzani finally spoke for the first time regarding Leeds on Twitter on Wednesday evening and appeared to reaffirm his commitment to the club.
That is despite the 49ers remaining in talks to complete a full buyout of the club this summer under revised terms after Leeds failed to secure their Premier League status.
Radrizzani must go
Radrizzani’s reputation amongst supporters was, at best, rocky prior to this latest development, and it was going to take a significant amount of work to rebuild that even before today.
However, his position at the club is now untenable, with any potential bridges having been burned and it is now time for him to sell the remainder of his shares.
At 56%, Radrizzani remains the majority shareholder at Leeds but talks now must be accelerated with 49ers to ensure he is off the books as swiftly as possible.
Supporters have understandably reacted angrily to the news that has broken across social media today with several having made it clear his face is no longer welcome back at Elland Road.
For him to go behind the back of the likes of Kinnear suggests even he knew this planned proposal would not go down well in West Yorkshire.
Six years of hard work undone in less than two weeks and whatever legacy he may have had is now gone. It is time to sell up.
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