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Leeds United owners Andrea Radrizzani and The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly plotting a joint takeover of Spanish La Liga side Valencia CF.
The 49ers are set to buy another 13-15% stake in Leeds United after papers were submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA, with the document entitled ‘49ers enterprises Leeds II SPV’ - the sequel to their first venture back in 2017.
We are yet to receive official confirmation of the new investment that reportedly values Leeds United at £240 million but the papers tend to take around three months to be approved by the SEC.
The relationship between The Whites and the NFL giants has grown significantly thanks to Leeds’ promotion to The Premier League in the 2019/20 season, seeing the club earn as much commercial revenue as Tottenham Hotspur in the 2020/21 campaign, and now the relationship is set to expand outside of Elland Road.
Monday's Marca is going big on reports that Andrea Radrizzani is seriously considering an approach to buy Valencia, with financial backing from San Francisco 49ers
— James Marshment (@marshyleeds) December 28, 2020
It’s been well documented that Radrizzani has been keen to expand his portfolio in the football business for a while, with Premier League promotion enabling him to look into buying another club.
Previously, Genoa’s owner came out publicly to criticise Radrizzani for his “attempt“ to purchase the Serie A club this summer, saying: “The offer was announced to me and the news was immediately made public, even before I could make an assessment. I invite these gentlemen to make their offer public, so people can get an idea. But I have the impression that they will not do it. I’m hard at work for the new season. And Genoa at this moment just needs serenity, not useless confusion.”
The thing that both Genoa and Valencia have in common is their financial struggles, with the Spanish club being forced into selling their prized assets including Leeds United’s record signing, Rodrigo Moreno.
Spanish outlet Marca have reported that Radrizzani remains interested in purchasing Valencia CF despite their owner, Peter Lim refusing to speak to him or any interested party for that matter.
However, the masses of debt has turned everyone at Valencia against Lim, with captain Geoffrey Kondogbia calling him out publicly on destroying the club he loves. The turmoil at the club makes a purchase a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’, and Radrizzani’s peers are encouraging him to stay in the race with The 49ers seemingly one of them.