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Andrea Radrizzani in the money as Leeds United chairman sells media interests to DAZN in multi-million deal

Leeds United majority owner Andrea Radrizzani

Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani has sold his company, Eleven Sports, to DAZN, reportedly netting the Italian a significant multi-million pound windfall.

The sports broadcaster was founded in 2015 and operates a network of premium broadcasting around the world. Those deals have ranged from F1, NBA, LaLiga and the Premier League, acquiring rights to broadcast the sports in various territories and country’s around the world.

In total, the company says it broadcasts 65,000 hours of live sports per yet.

However, after weeks of speculation, BusinessPeople.it reports that DAZN have reached an agreement to buy Eleven Sports. There is, however, no indication of how much the sale will net Radrizzani or what it will mean for his finances.

Under the agreement, however, Radizzani will become executive director of DAZN, simultaneously ending his role as CEO of Eleven Sports.

The Leeds owner launched Eleven Group in 2015 and they soon started acquiring various global television rights. Their rapid growth has led to plenty of speculation over potential buy-outs, prior to Tuesday’s announcement.

Per Sport Witness, the assumption is that Radrizzani’s personal wealth will rise as a result. In hand, that could also prove beneficial to Leeds United in future transfer windows.

The Whites narrowly escaped relegation last season, only avoiding the drop on the final day of the season.

That led to wholesale changes this summer with nine new players arriving. Here, we have ranked them from worst to best.

Those sales, however, were underpinned by the sales of their two star men, Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips.

This season, the club currently sits in 11th place and they will hope to avoid last season’s dramas.

What is Andrea Radrizzani worth?

Per the Yorkshire Evening Post in June, Radrizzani is currently worth £450m. That places him 18th on the Premier League owners’ rich-list, with only Bournemouth and Brentford’s majority shareholders behind him.

The list is topped by Newcastle’s owners, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), whose reported net worth is a whopping £320bn.

Whether the new deal sees more funds released into the Leeds transfer coffers remains to be seen.

Radrizzani’s currently retains a 56% share of the club, making him majority shareholder.

49ers Enterprises – the investment arm of NFL side San Francisco 49ers – own 44%. Their stake in the club has increased year on year since they acquired 10% from Radrizzani in May 2018.

Radrizzani, however, has been criticised for a lack of spending at Leeds this summer. Their net spend was only around £1.75m with the sales of Raphinha and Phillips underpinning all nine new arrivals in the summer window.

The club also turned over a £25m profit in their latest accounts, published in May. However, as this report reveals, the money is not hard cash in the pocket of Radrizzani and was actually used to repay £21.3m of shareholder loans.

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