Last month, Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani revealed he’s considering offers from three parties, including one from Paris Saint-Germain’s owners Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), to sell the Championship side.
L’Equipe have now gathered comments from the QSI ‘entourage’, and provide the latest update on developments of the Qatari investors potentially taking over the English club.
“This is an opportunity that presents itself. It is interesting and it is a big name in English football that we can help develop and bring back [to the Premier League]; a very beautiful brand with which we can recreate a story,” a member of the wider QSI family is quoted as saying.
The Whites owner and PSG chairman Nasser Ghanim Al-Khelaifi share a good relationship as the two worked on several TV rights deals in the past.
QSI’s interest to enter the English market is not new as the French newspaper claims discussions with Leeds have been going on for several months. The QSI entourage states “Their call was answered right away.”
On the ongoing negotiations, the entourage added: “There are real discussions, but it’s a slow-moving file. But it can go faster tomorrow…”
L’Equipe are of the belief Leeds are estimated to cost QSI around €60-80m and responding to it, QSI source stated: “That’s not wrong.”
If the deal to take over Leeds materialises, it will give QSI a potential future headache as UEFA rules don’t allow two clubs involved in a European competition to be owned by a single entity.
“The right people will ask themselves the right questions to know how to do it, but we are very far from it,” the entourage said.
Meanwhile, L’Equipe reached out to Radrizzani for an update, but they were told the Italian would not be able to comment on the ongoing discussions.
