Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Leeds United's proposed takeover with the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers is unlikely to result in a multi-sport model. Current owner Andrea Radrizzani has agreed a deal with the American organisation for his shares in the club.
Maguire believes relegation could cost the outgoing Whites owner in the region of £230-280 million as Radrizzani bares the brunt of the club's Premier League tenure coming to an end.
Maguire told The Price of Football podcast: "Yes, it would appear that Leeds United's majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani has accepted an offer from the San Francisco 49ers investment arm. Now, lots of people think that therefore we are going to have a multi-sport business here.
"To a certain extent the 49ers investment arm are completely independent of the sports entity itself. It just happens to be they're using the name and the credibility and reputation that comes with the name.
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"From my understanding and talking to some people who talk to some people etc, it would appear there has been a bit of reticence from some of the investors themselves in the 49ers investment arm in the deal as to whether this deal should go ahead. It did take Leeds longer than they expected, longer than anybody expected for them to get back to the Premier League in the first place.
"No doubt, somebody will have pointed out, with average losses in the Championship of £20million a year, if you're just looking at Leeds United from an investment perspective, it could be a very expensive exercise. I think that will therefore impact on the price that's being paid.
"The stories that are doing the rounds is the agreed price is £170million. I believe that Mr Radrizzani bought his controlling interest in Leeds United for around about £45-50million, then he built up his shareholding. It probably cost him somewhere in the region of £90-100million and he'll have written off some losses since then.
"He'll still come out with, I suspect smiling and with a profit, but not as big a profit had Leeds been in the Premier League this summer where, again reading the press, it would appear that the asking price or the agreed price was somewhere in the region of £400-450million, so it was a very expensive relegation from Radrizzani's perspective.
"Given that he wants to - and I believe has - acquire Sampdoria, then he needs to take money from Peter and give to Paul in effect - or Paulo that should be! Interesting times for Leeds fans.
"We don't know what the objectives are. I'm sure Leeds fans will be interested. It was a classic case of one of those relationships that starts off really positively and then rapidly declines and we've all been in those Leeds fans you're not alone."
