Leeds confirm increased ownership stake from San Francisco 49ers
By Tom Gott
Leeds United have confirmed that the San Francisco 49ers have made a fresh investment into the team and taken their ownership stake to 37%.
49ers Enterprises made a minority investment in the club back in 2018, but 90min revealed in July 2020 that team owners, the York family, that they were interested in increasing their ownership of the Elland Road side.
? 49ers Enterprises increases Leeds United ownership stake to 37% after latest investment
— Leeds United (@LUFC) January 25, 2021
Talks between the two parties have continued ever since and Leeds took to their official website to confirm a deal has been reached which will also see 49ers Enterprises president Paraag Marathe become vice-chairman of the club.
“We are delighted to welcome further investment into our club from 49ers Enterprises and I am confident that this latest partnership will help Leeds United continue to grow and develop into the team our supporters deserve,” chairman Andrea Radrizzani said in a statement.
“I have always been open to bringing partners on this journey with me, as long as these actions can benefit the long-term strategy of the club. Paraag and the team at 49ers Enterprises are uniquely positioned to collaborate with myself, Angus Kinnear, Victor Orta and our management team to help us achieve our goals.
“Now that we have achieved promotion and made a positive start to the new campaign, there is no better time to be looking ahead to the future, as we aim to take this football club to the next level, initially by becoming an established Premier League side before chasing our dreams of taking Leeds United back into Europe.
“We must also be focused on reaching our potential commercially and developing Elland Road and our training facilities.”
Radrizzani still remains the majority shareholder of the club, and Marathe stressed his desire to continue to work alongside the current chairman to try and take Leeds to the next level.
? "My father was a big influence" From childhood to Premier League, Mateusz chats about his journey pic.twitter.com/KLpUGFYzkj
— Leeds United (@LUFC) January 21, 2021
“Our 49ers Enterprises team has always shared Andrea’s vision for constructing a powerful and winning club in the most competitive football league in the world, and the experience of the last three seasons has been more exhilarating than we could have ever imagined,” Marathe said.
“The hard work and bold leadership demonstrated by Andrea and his talented team has restored Leeds United’s rightful place in the Premier League and we look forward to playing an even bigger role in supporting their efforts to climb the table this year and into the future.”