Andrea Radrizzani, the current owner of Leeds United, was in Italy as rumors swirl over a connection to Sampdoria. The Italian club is poised to drop down into Serie B. For reference, the club has three wins after 34 games. It has fewer than half the points the team five spots ahead of in the table, Salernitana, has.
Yet, that would make the club cheaper to buy, and Andrea Radrizzani is certainly in the market for a new team. Reporters recently spotted Radrizzani in Genoa as he is part of the group seeking ownership of Sampdoria. The others in the group are Matteo Manfredi and Jordan Rocca. The challenge this trio faces is helping Sampdoria fiscally recover. Massimo Ferrero, the club’s current owner, oversaw the club’s decline from a consistently mid-table team to one of the worst seasons in recent Serie A history.
For Radrizzani, this move would open a potential sale of Leeds. In order to raise funds for his takeover of a club in Italy, Radrizzani could offload his majority ownership of Leeds. Of course, the plan was for the San Francisco 49ers group to do that. However, that is contingent on Leeds maintaining its status in the Premier League. Based on Leeds’s current form and position in the league table, that status looks questionable.
Furthermore, Radrizzani has links to Inter Milan. If the Italian were able to get money from the 49ers group, previous reports indicated he targeted one of the Italian giants. Instead, this move favors the idea that this could force a change in owner at Leeds to make Sampdoria work.
Leeds owner could move to Sampdoria regardless of relegation
Leeds looks set for relegation. The Whites must beat Tottenham on the last day of the season to have any chance. Even then, an Everton win or draw could send Leeds down. That result would, as of now, keep Radrizzani at the club. The Italian owns 56% of the Elland Road club.
Switching over to Sampdoria would require money, money that could come from Leeds’s potential sale. Fortunately for Radrizzani, some reports show the 49ers group would be keen to buy out Radrizzani’s take in Leeds even if the club does go down. There is no estimate for what that fee would be. Any fee would then likely go into the acquisition of Sampdoria.
PHOTO: IMAGO / News Images
