FLW have looked to see what former c owner Andrea Radrizzani is up to these days.
The Yorkshire side are back in the second tier after a few seasons away and are bidding to return to the Premier League under new ownership and new management.
Leeds’ former owner, Andrea Radrizzani, decided to sell his majority share in Leeds during the summer to the San Francisco 49ers investment fund, which already owned 44 percent of the club.
Radrizzani decided enough was enough this summer and gave up his stake in the Championship side, after completing his takeover of the club in 2017, paying Massimo Cellino £44 million for the club.
So, with Leeds now under new ownership and making strides towards a return to the top flight, here at Football League World, we have looked at what Radrizzani is up to these days…
Radrizzani is an Italian businessman and the chairman and founder of the sports broadcasting group Eleven Sports.
While he has given up his role at Leeds, Radrizzani still has ties to football, as he is the owner of Italian side Sampdoria.
The 49-year-old sold Leeds in the summer, but in May, he and his business partner Matteo Manfredi decided to take over troubled Italian side Sampdoria.
Sampdoria have always been known as a Serie A side in recent years, but this season Radrizzani has taken over a team in Serie B.
Radrizzani decided to appoint former AC Milan and Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo as the club’s new manager in May, but in the last week or so, there has been mention of former Leeds manager Garry Monk taken over Pirlo in Italy.
As well as his focus being on Sampdoria, Radrizzani is also the founder and chairman of the Play for Change Foundation, a charity that runs sport and education programmes for children both internationally and in Italy. The 49-year-old was also appointed to UEFA’s Foundation for Children’s Board of Trustees in 2022, another role that he will be occupied with now that he has left Leeds.
As mentioned, Radrizzani took over at Elland Road in 2017, and during his six years at the club, it was a very mixed bag.
The club achieved very little during his tenure, but there were certain changes that he made that did benefit the club.
One of the first decisions Radrizzani made was bringing in Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear. Obviously, Orta has left the club now, but he was an integral part of the club’s success in the Championship and the fact that the club was able to reach the Premier League.
Kinnear is still at the club and was a trusted ally for Radrizzani as he ran Leeds United day to day.
Another early decision he made was to bring the women’s team back to Leeds United, as it previously was on its own after the previous owner decided against funding it.
The biggest achievement Leeds had under Radrizzani’s reign was the club returning to the Premier League in 2020. Marcelo Bielsa was the man in charge, and it proved to be a shrewd appointment for the club, as the Argentine managed in the Championship and guided the club back to the top flight after 16 years.
As previously mentioned, Radrizzani did make good changes for the club, whether they were on the pitch or off it.
The Italian managed to persuade a manager like Bielsa to manage in the Championship for two seasons.
He was also the man who gave the Argentine the tools to get the club back into the Premier League after 16 years away. So, in that sense, his time will be fondly remembered, but given the size of the club, fans probably think more could have been achieved.
While the ending of his reign will not be remembered by many, that may be a cloud that is always over his head when people come to talk about Radrizzani’s reign at Leeds United.