How Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish inadvertently triggered Andrea Radrizzani's ownership of Leeds United
Radrizzani wants to turn Leeds into the club they once were
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Your support makes all the difference.Football is more than simply a 90-minute match, it is a 24-hour conversation. So it was last April, before Manchester City hosted Paris St-Germain in the Champions League quarter-final, that Andrea Radrizzani, a 41 year-old Italian specialising in sports media rights, found himself at the dinner table beside a man called Kenny Dalglish.
The two men discussed various things, Radrizzani says, and the possibility of buying an English football club arose - theoretically.
From Dalglish came a two-word suggestion: “Leeds United”.
This was not a lightbulb moment for Radrizzani, but as he watched City beat PSG, then thought some more, the idea of Leeds United began to glow.
“It wasn’t easy to understand,” is Radrizzani’s joke about Dalglish’s undiluted Glaswegian accent, “but I did.
“He [Dalglish] mentioned the great opportunity if someone had a concrete project with a vision. He also mentioned how the city is passionate about the club and this is what I’m finding out. Maybe he knew that I couldn’t buy Liverpool.
“It’s not really that he spoke to me in a serious manner. We were talking about many things and for two minutes we talked about Leeds - the sleeping giant.
“A few weeks later, at the end of May, I remember I was talking about different clubs and someone mentioned Leeds. Then I got in touch with Massimo [Cellino], who at that time I didn’t know. I got his contact from my business partner and I called him. I pretended to be an agent investing for another buyer.”
It was then, Radrizzani says, that he “put the two things together - initially I wasn’t even thinking about making an investment in football.”
Dalglish had started a ball rolling and this explains Radrizzani's arrival on the fourth floor of Elland Road’s main stand on Saturday morning. A fortnight after acquiring 50 per cent of Leeds United from the controversial Cellino, who is under an FA ban, Radrizzani was sitting alongside him.
As Cellino fidgeted and joked – smiling, he made a Pinocchio gesture when the words “Garry’s happy” were uttered about manager Monk’s position at the club – Radrizzani gave measured answers, careful not to inflate expectations.
In the far corner of the room a poster of Peter Lorimer promised: ‘Real History. Real Future. Real Choice.’ And it felt like there had been an outbreak of common sense at Elland Road.
After 15 years with the variety of Peter Ridsdale, Gerald Krasner, Ken Bates, FGH and Cellino in charge, this will be welcome to a fanbase re-enthused by Monk’s work in his 7-and-a-half months in west Yorkshire. Friday’s 1-0 win over Derby lifted Leeds to third in the Championship.
None of the last six managers appointed by Cellino have lasted a year, but Radrizzani says that his intention is for Monk’s current one-year contract to be upgraded into a three-year deal.
There is a determination not to sell Charlie Taylor, as other homegrown talents have been sold, and to turn Pontus Jansson’s loan deal into a permanent £3.5m transfer from Torino.
Moving to a hospitality box overlooking the pitch, Radrizzani noted the aging stadium and will look at whether buying back Elland Road makes economic sense: “At the moment the infrastructure is very old,” he adds. There is a lot to consider, including whether he ups his 50 per cent to 100 per cent after May.
Cellino called finances in the Championship “scary” and Radrizzani supports that view. Asked about purchasing players in this window for a promotion push, his reply is: “No, because I don’t believe winning the league or getting promotion is all about money.
“There are plenty of cases this season of clubs with much bigger salaries, like Aston Villa, in a lower position than us.
“We need to find the balance to keep the club sustainable. If you want to compete and win just by buying players, it could be a disaster for the club, because if you don’t go up, in two years, you basically need to get out and change ownership again.
“The Championship is a great league, but very difficult. We will see a lot of this in-and-out of ownership because it is difficult to sustain a loss for many years. Anybody would think this, even if they have a passion for football. At a certain point you get tired of losing money.”
Given his experience in TV rights, Radrizzani should be able to advance the cause of Championship clubs in negotiations. Derby are one vocal club who feel the division is undersold.
Radrizzani has given himself five years to make an impact – “My commitment to the club is long-term and I will endeavour to be a fitting custodian,” he wrote in Friday’s match programme – although in his first day last week he says he sat down and also wrote: “Elland Road 2020” on a notepad.
“It’s only three years away, so it’s not a long period of time. But I think it’s enough time to do something good.”
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