Andrea Radrizzani considers Leeds United hate and reveals Marcelo Bielsa's huge call for change

Departing Whites chairman Radrizzani appointed Bielsa as the third head coach of his tenure in the summer of 2018 and the Argentine took Leeds back to the Premier League in style two years later as Championship champions.

Bielsa then steered the Whites to a brilliant ninth-placed finish upon United’s top-flight return but the promotion-winning boss was then sacked just nine months later with Leeds hovering just above the drop zone in February of the following season.

It was to prove the beginning of the end for Leeds who turned to Jesse Marsch as Bielsa’s successor but Marsch was then sacked one year later with the Whites in another relegation battle despite the American coach having kept the team up on the final day of the previous campaign.

The Whites then turned to Javi Gracia followed by a last chuck of the dice with Sam Allardyce but this time there was no saving United’s skins and Radrizzani now exits the club with Leeds back in the second tier amid the 49ers Enterprises Group’s full takeover.

Radrizzani, though, has revealed that Bielsa actually called for a huge change after the club’s ninth-placed finish, advising him to change either the club’s manager or players with the team’s ceiling at its limit.

As part of a major sliding doors moment, Radrizzani persuaded Bielsa to stay for another year and hoped longer term that the Argentine would become United’s director of football. Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports News, Radrizzani admitted that he was aware many fans now “hated” him for ultimately sacking Bielsa but says he was only begrudgingly axed the Argentine due to the huge fear of the drop.

Asked if hiring Bielsa was the best decision of his reign and said without hesitation: “Yes, among all the coaches, 100 per cent, yes, not just because he let us enjoy the best football in Leeds I think in the history of the football club.

"But also because of the way that he transformed the club, the culture of the club, the ethical work, the dedication around the area of the people of Thorp Arch.

"He was excellent. But as Marcelo has shown in his career, after a period of time, this continued demand that he has on people around him and from not only players but staff and everyone, it can become a problem because it then becomes saturated and people start feeling stressed and sometimes the pressure can become stress.”

Recalling the very moment when Bielsa recommended a major change, Radrizzani revealed: “We both remember at the end of the first season in the Premier League we ended up in ninth position which was a brilliant season. I remember sitting down with Marcelo and actually he told me, he said, ‘you should change me or you should change all the players because like this we can go more than that (ninth).’

"He was aware that the situation was at the limit and then actually I convinced him and we decided to stay one extra year with potentially later becoming more a director of football on top of the coach.

"I wanted him to stay as long as possible for what he did for Leeds. In reality we knew the risk, both of us knew the risk and maybe that was the best time to change.

"But I wasn't brave enough to change after ninth position in the league and I think also for him he wanted to enjoy an extra season as a coach with the fans in the stadium because the season in which we did very well because of Covid we couldn't enjoy with our fans.

"These are circumstances that we can always say if or what but at the end I think we can keep the legacy. I know I am hated by some fans because I have sacked Marcelo but it was hard for me too because I know what he represented for the club. But in that moment, I believe I was doing what was best for the club."