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Leeds owner will not sell stake

According to The Times this morning Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani will not consider selling a stake in the club for at least a year despite the reported interest of Qatari Sports Investment (QSI). The original story was in the Financial Times and I wonder if someone close to QSI has been talking to the Pink 'Un, while The Times story came from sources close to the club. It could all be part of a negotiating game.

The line The Times is taking is that there would be no point in anyone taking a stake at this point in time as it could not be put into the club because of financial fair play rules. I would have thought that an equity stake could get round this, but in any case the objective might be to tidy up Radrizzani's personal finances.

What seems a stronger argument is that Leeds would be worth more if promoted to the Premier League next season. Of course, we have been waiting for that for some time. I have been guilty of saying at the start of every season for some time that this must be Leeds's year.

Moreover, the game plan appears to be to rely on maintain the status quo, bring in some quality loan signings and not to make any major transfer investment. Is that enough to give a good chance of automatic promotion (which has to be the goal)?

Radrizzani has said that he is only two years into a five year plan at Leeds. He is, however, friends with Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi who is a minister in the Qatari government and a member of QSI. He is under investigation in Switzerland for alleged bribery concerning World Cup TV rights, but he emphatically denies any wrongdoing.

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