"Significant liability" - Football finance expert predicts Leeds United player sales this summer | OneFootball

Leeds United are a second-year parachute payment team meaning that they naturally require the sales of some of their key players again this summer, according to finance expert Professor Rob Wilson.

The Whites have been under new ownership for almost a year now following the full takeover of 49ers Enterprises during the summer of 2023 and have recently gained further investment following the announcement that Red Bull are joining as a minority stakeholder.

49ers Enterprises previously owned a 44% stake in the club from their 2018 investment and were keen to become the majority shareholders by buying the club from Andrea Radrizzani. Eventually, they gained EFL ratification, meaning Paraag Marathe, previously vice chairman and board member of the club, was able to take over as Leeds chairman from the Italian.

It meant a major restructuring behind the scenes, with Angus Kinnear remaining in his role as CEO, and Rudy Cline-Thomas was named as new vice chairman of the club. They also added the likes of Gretar Steinsson, Nick Hammond, and Jordan Miles to their recruitment team as well.

Leeds' investors have also been joined by other famous faces, with the likes of Jordan Spieth also taking particular interest in the club following the takeover of 49ers Enterprises, alongside huge names in American sports, such as Michael Phelps and Larry Nance. Recent developments have seen Will Ferrell also join the club as one of many minority investors, alongside Leeds fan, Russell Crowe.

However, fresh developments have added further to their list of investors at Elland Road in the form of Red Bull, who sealed the most lucrative sponsorship deal in EFL history with the West Yorkshire outfit. The Whites announced last week that they have struck an agreement with the energy drinks company.

The deal will involve Red Bull becoming the shirt sponsor going forward, replacing BOXT on the front of the jersey. It will also bring the Austrian brand into the 49ers Enterprises ownership group, with Red Bull taking on a minority stake in the Championship club as well.

Rob Wilson's Leeds verdict

In spite of all the recent investments, Leeds losing in the play-off final will have ramifications on what the club can do this summer. Cash flow and debts are an issue, meaning young players such as Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto, Georginio Rutter, and Archie Gray could be sold to help balance the books before the club can make significant investments of their own in the form of incoming players to the squad.

Speaking to OLBG, Professor Rob Wilson has had his say on the situation at Elland Road.

He said: "Leeds United have been doing okay on a financial basis in terms of financial performance, but they have a significant liability of over £100 million in terms of transfer fees.

"The reality of Championship level revenue is that they are going to be 50% lower next year than they probably were in their first year after relegation because of the reduced parachute payment and reduced TV payments.

"So, as an entity, they are shrinking and will need to meet those obligations. The only way they can logistically do that is by selling a couple of players and trying to generate some fairly high fees for them that can be used to offset that debt.

"It was interesting to see the Red Bull association come out last week because that might help with a little bit of capital injection, but this is not going to change the balance sheet."

Leeds' financial situation

Coming to terms with losing key players that helped the club get to third in the division is a tough pill to swallow, but the reality for Leeds if they are to be able to compete at the top-end of the division again next season.

Although, Marathe's response to concerns over Leeds’ current financial situation, claiming that it’s not as bad as it seems will have given the supporters hope of clinging onto some of their best young stars.

He highlighted the January sale of Luis Sinisterra and other sales such as Tyler Adams as examples of moves already made to ease the burden on the money they owe to other clubs this summer, during an interview with Sky Sports.

Having just missed out on automatic promotion, there will remain optimism that the club can be strong again next season, even with a slightly weaker squad, with Championship competition perhaps less fierce at the top of the league when looking at the teams that have gone up and come down.