“I HEARD DALGLISH TALK ABOUT LEEDS, AND DECIDED TO INVEST”

Leeds’ Italian owner Andrea Radrizzani tells Fourfourtwo about how he first got involved with the Yorkshire giants – and why they’ve been so successful under boss Marcelo Bielsa

“When I first wanted to get involved with football, I initially thought about investing in two separate clubs – one in Belgium where I’d work on younger talents, and another in Italy or France where I could bring important talents to bigger teams.

Before that, my primary activity had been trading rights for sports events, working with organisations like the Premier League, UEFA and Serie A. I decided I wanted to try to do something that would leave a legacy.

In 2016, I was chatting to friends at lunch before a Champions League match between Manchester City and Paris Saint- Germain. Kenny Dalglish was there, asking who would be able to wake up the sleeping giant, Leeds United. I listened to him talking about them, then two weeks later I asked if they had any interest in selling the club.

I wanted to do something that was worth remembering, to bring Leeds back into the Premier League – until 2004, they had been one of the most important teams in the world. I declared my interest, and Massimo Cellino said we could work together. ‘ Come in with me,’ he said, ‘ and if we don’t make it to the Premier League, you can buy the rest’. The negotiation was long and difficult, but we reached agreement in January 2017. We didn’t quite make it to the Premier League, finishing seventh, so I bought the remaining 50 per cent that May.

“In the first year we made many mistakes – we were buying players like you sign them on Football Manager, classic mistakes that a young entrepreneur makes when entering an environment such as Leeds, with a lot of pressure. A different approach was needed, to establish a new culture. When I bought

Leeds, I defined the code of the club: pride, ambition, innovation, hard work and family.

The ideals of Marcelo Bielsa are very close to that code. We were discussing who to bring in as coach and had many different options – until I was sat in a car with our director of football, Victor Orta. He said the ideal type would be Bielsa, but it would be impossible to get him. I said that nothing is impossible, and to try calling him.

Victor called, but Bielsa didn’t answer. The following day, when we managed to get in contact, he’d already got to know the club, from the academy to the first team. That shows how much work he puts in – some might define it as excessive, but Marcelo is an extremely meticulous man.

We had a meeting with him in Buenos Aires and it lasted around 10 hours. I realised that his working codes were the ones I wanted the club to have, and that he could contribute to transforming Leeds United.

When we didn’t gain promotion in the first year, we had a chat to clear some things up, as there were doubts on both sides about the future. It was a constructive conversation – we put the club first. We sorted everything out and started the new season in good form. We worked well together, didn’t have any disagreements, and the results showed.

When we finally secured promotion, it was a wonderful night. The next morning, I woke up filled with pride at reaching the Premier League – the realisation of my objective. Now we need to go gradually, to consolidate our place in the top flight and stay there for at least two or three years, then try to reach higher goals. In the future, our aim is to be among the top six teams in England again.”