Darragh MacAnthony has told Leeds United supporters not to panic as he launched a staunch defence of Andrea Radrizzani and predicted a 49ers takeover would see the Whites return to the Premier League and stay there.
Leeds majority owner Radrizzani has come in for plenty of criticism as Leeds fans worried when the Athletic reported he offered to use Elland Road as collateral in his bid to purchase Serie A club Sampdoria. No charge had been registered on Companies House though, with talk of other board members.
But the Times later reported that talks between 49ers Enterprises and Radrizzani are continuing and 'will not be affected' by this latest development, with the report adding that relegation 'has not dampened' the 49ers' desire to complete their long-mooted takeover either.
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With plenty of experience in both business and also football ownership, Posh chairman MacAnthony was asked by talkSport about the reports, and he moved to defend Radrizzani, while also predicting a very bright future for the club.
He told talkSPORT: "The optics and timing are terrible. Leeds have just been relegated, someone leaks this to the Athletic and then it comes out about a week later. If the Newcastle owners did this after qualifying for the Champions League there wouldn't be much written about it.
"This kind of thing goes on in football all the time. You have to raise money somehow and you can't get access to all your own cash because it might be locked up in stock, other businesses or whatever. Borrowing at seven per cent to do a deal - the Sampdoria deal looks like a good deal.
"Here's my thing about the stadium... we're talking about two companies here. You've got Leeds United Football Club and you've got the stadium company. He didn't tell the 49ers, but he owns the stadium company, so really, it's none of their business. The second thing is, if Leeds United have a 50-year lease on that stadium, does it matter who owns the stadium or if a bank repossesses it?
"My football club has a lease for the next 20-odd years with our stadium and we recently had an issue with it because there was an issue with the ownership among us - the three of us own the stadium company separately. But that doesn't matter because our football club can play there for the next 20 years as long as they pay their lease every year.
"It'll be the same for Leeds. So it's really a storm in a teacup and it's been overblown. It's because of the relegation. It's just PR, and yes, the fans deserve to know and they deserve some clarity, but, if he's trying to do a deal discreetly and quietly, and it's deal of the century, and he wants to make sure he gets everything signed and sealed before somebody else swoops in and steals it from him, if he goes and tells everyone about it - the 49ers, this director, that director - it's going to get out there and it could kill the deal.
"Maybe he just wanted discretion. This guy came in and got them promoted. Peterborough United beat them at our place in League One and we got promoted to the Championship over Leeds. That was the history of Leeds during my ownership of Peterborough. This guy has come in and shifted the needle.
"Yes, they got relegated because they signed half the men's USA national team who weren't very good. And the director of football who was there, if he was made of chocolate he'd eat himself. Lots of things have happened that Andrea would probably regret, but I don't think he's the worst owner out there.
"I've seen some horrible owners. As bad as everything that's going on in the boardroom is, I think they're going to be all right. I think the 49ers will buy it and I think he knows the deal is going to be done, hence why he's buying Sampdoria. The 49ers will buy it, and by the way, the people who own the 49ers, we're talking billions.
"Leeds will be a force. If the fans are listening, don't panic. You will be back in the Premier League, and once you get back again within the next 24 months, you won't leave it."
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