Indebted Radrizzani will not lose sleep if Bielsa walks away from Leeds

Marcelo Bielsa TEAMtalk

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani says he will not lose any sleep if Marcelo Bielsa decides to leave the Premier League new boys.

Bielsa only signed another one-year rolling contract in the summer after Leeds’ promotion from the Championship.

That means the 65-year-old will fall out of contract in July, but Radrizzani is sure the Argentinian will stay on at Elland Road.

But if Bielsa calls it a day next summer, Radrizzani will have no issues because he will be leaving behind a “proper club”.

Radrizzani told beIN SPORTS via The Sun: “I hope he can stay with us for a long time. But we like to decide year by year because, obviously, he’s not a young manager, he’s 65 and his family, his wife is often in Argentina.

“Hopefully, he can stay longer – 60 is the new 40 these days!

“If not, I think what he’s building is the foundation for a proper club.

“He has put in the foundations for the future without him.

“I say that really convinced of his job, because it’s not only what you can see every game but what he has done in terms of changing the facilities, the work ethic — they really reflect what I wanted to do in the club.”

Bielsa, who arrived in the summer of 2018 after leaving Lille in 2017, has achieved God-like status in West Yorkshire after guiding the Whites back into the top flight.

Radrizzani has explained how a chat with Director of football Victor Orta led to the club appointing Bielsa, who looked out of their reach.

Radrizzani added: “It was a discussion in the car with Victor.

“It was a difficult season so I wanted to have a leader, a charismatic coach who could change the culture.

“Victor said ‘I think Marcelo Bielsa would be amazing, but it’s impossible’ . . . when someone says something is impossible I want it more.

“So I said ‘Call him now’. And then he didn’t pick up but Victor left him a message.

 


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Survival key for Leeds

“By the time he spoke to him the next day, Marcelo had already watched ten games, already knew the players.

“Then we flew to Buenos Aires and we spent ten hours in a room learning from him, while he was already clear in his mind what to do and change.”

Leeds have started the Premier League season in great form, however they were rocked by a 4-1 home defeat to Leicester on Monday.

And Radrizzani says that survival is the name of the game this season.

“We need to focus for the next couple of years to stay in the Premier League,” added Radrizzani.

“We all know this club is massive, this brand is well known everywhere, so if we stay in the league we can aim to stay just next to the top six.

“Leeds have potential to grow over the next three to five years.”

READ MORE: Bielsa refuses to take blame despite pinpointing key tactical reason for heavy Leeds loss