Confirmed: Leeds agree terms of £8.5m deal, payment scheduled for summer
By Richard Parks
Massimo Cellino is owed a further £8.5million from his sale of Leeds United, according to accounts published by the club’s former holding company. Financial figures released by Eleonora Sport Limited (ESL), the firm set up by Cellino to take control of Leeds in 2014 and posted on
, reveal that Andrea Radrizzani paid £45million to buy Leeds from Cellino. Italian businessman Radrizzani completed his purchase of the Championship side with separate instalments of £20million and £25million. The first amount, paid in December 2016, secured United’s current chairman an initial 50 per cent stake in Leeds. Radrizzani then completed a 100 per cent buy-out of Cellino with a £25million payment on May 23, 2017. The 2016-17 results for ESL, of which Cellino is one of two directors, states that the company made a profit of £3.5million through the sale of the club to Radrizzani. Further analysis of the accounts shows that Cellino is also due an additional £8.5million from the sale of Leeds over the next eight years, beginning this August, meaning the final price will total £53.5million. Cellino first became majority shareholder of Leeds in April 2014 after acquiring a 75 per cent stake from Gulf Finance House. GFH accepted a payment of £11million for those shares with Cellino agreeing to take on debts of more than £20m. He subsequently bought all remaining shares in September 2016, three months before Radrizzani made his first investment.
Football Insider verdict:
A £3.5million profit over three years is a very tidy sum indeed, and demonstrates that Cellino is a cannier businessman than his eccentric conduct might have you believe. His spell as owner was heaped in controversy as he fought battles with the Football League and sections of the club’s support. Certainly, he has not been missed. Radrizzani is a safer and more sensible pair of hands, but he is far from the sugar Daddy that many fans want.
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