Leeds United fans received a bolt from the blue on Thursday when it emerged the club chairman, Paraag Marathe, is a key man in an American consortium trying to buy Glasgow giants Rangers. The group were in advanced talks and since then it has emerged that a broad agreement is in place between the two parties and the takeover could be completed by June. Marathe and the 49ers’ involvement have led to speculation over what this could mean for Leeds and some have even suggested that Rangers could become a feeder club for the Yorkshire giants. However, more concerning claims have emerged that could have serious ramifications at Elland Road.
Marathe and his executive team have been a steady hand at the wheel for Leeds and they properly backed Daniel Farke last summer when it could have been easy to sack him after the Whites lost the playoff final against Southampton.
The Leeds board have already laid out plans for expanding the capacity of Elland Road and have big plans for the club once they return to the Premier League.
Leeds are well on their way to earning promotion to the top flight this season but Marathe’s involvement in the takeover bid for Rangers have set tongues wagging in West Yorkshire.
The club would need proper financial backing in the summer transfer window if they get promoted and the chairman trying to buy another football club is not the news the fans were expecting.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed that there is a chance that money could become a flashpoint between the two clubs in the near future.
Leeds United and Rangers could squabble over the same budget
Leeds fans expect the board to properly back Farke next summer in the transfer window if they get promoted to the top flight of English football.
There is an acceptance that Leeds would need to overhaul the squad if they want to survive in the top flight and the budget need to be more than considerable.
However, Maguire pointed out that the 49ers are professional owners and while it might not please the fans, they would never spend to a point where the club could threaten to break football’s financial rules.
He believes their potential investment into Rangers is another way to find a club they would want to progress and the Glasgow giants could end up having a fruitful relationship with Leeds.
However, Maguire stressed if Marathe tightens the purse strings, the two clubs could go to loggerheads over the same limited budget.
“Certainly with what I have observed at Leeds United, they are very professional, and they are not going to spend money that they don’t have just for the sake of spending it”, he told MOT Leeds News.
“But I do think that there is an opportunity to progress the club, whether it is Leeds United, or a club in France or Belgium or wherever it may be.
“They will act like adults, which is good in a vast majority of ways but does not necessarily please the fanbase, though, because all they want is huge signings to be bestowed on the club and taken to the limit as far as cost control rules, Financial Fair Play and so on.
“There can be synergies for both clubs [scouting networks and data sharing]; equally if money is tight then both could be fighting over the same budget.”
This would infuriate the Leeds fans
Leeds are already a tiny part of the Red Bull group of clubs through the energy drink giants’ minority investment into the Yorkshire giants but the 49ers getting involved at another club would be something different.
The Whites fans are still very much scrutinising Marathe and his people despite their steady ownership of the club and the Rangers investment has made them more circumspect.
While being part of a multi-club model has it’s advantages, Leeds fans would become more wary if it means less investment into the squad in the upcoming years.
Leeds would not want Rangers to eat into their budget if Marathe becomes a key man behind the scenes at Ibrox from next summer onwards.
Their investment into the Glasgow giants could backfire if Leeds fans become irate about their club getting shortchanged as part of the process.
Marathe and the Leeds board would do well to clarify everything soon and calm down a jittery fanbase before rumours and speculation take hold.
Leeds United and Rangers could be ‘fighting over the same budgets’ – 49ers multi-club ownership plan could backfire
