Jesse Marsch calls for Leeds United Andrea Radrizzani appreciation after 'talking point' emerges

Majority owner Radrizzani spoke with Corriere della Sera about his time at Leeds and what needs to happen next for the Whites to move to the next level, in an interview he told Marsch was done weeks ago.

The Italian admits that the club require a deeper well of resources in order to compete with those existing higher up the Premier League food chain.

"Yes, perhaps Leeds can grow further, but in the future they will need more resources to be able to reach higher levels and compete with the best clubs in the Premier League," he said.

"As a result, I believe that, due to the history of the club and the respect I have for their fans, it is right to let those who can invest more than me go forward, and bring them to the glory of the past. There is also a design aspect: this is my sixth year, change is healthy. The football part: we are happy with Leeds, however we are evaluating other investments and the potential exit will be in 2024 together with the San Francisco 49ers, then we will consider strategic partnerships or IPOs, always with the aim of being the global digital destination for sports fans.”

According to Marsch, Radrizzani addressed the interview with him prior to the Manchester City game and explained that he had actually spoken to Corriere della Sera some time ago.

"He told me that that interview was done a couple of months ago, and that it was just recently released and it becomes a talking point," said Marsch.

In the American's opinion, Radrizzani's impact at Leeds has been 'immense' and he deserves gratitude for what he's done since buying the club outright in May 2017.

Since then, with Marcelo Bielsa installed as head coach, Radrizzani achieved his initial goal of returning Leeds to the Premier League. Radrizzani sacked the Argentine in February of this year, fearing that the side's form would lead to relegation, and convinced Marsch to take over far earlier than the planned summer succession. Marsch steered the side to four wins and three draws from the remaining 12 games to stay up by three points, secured on the final day of the campaign.

This season, as expectations grow of a takeover by his minority partners 49ers Enterprises, Radrizzani made the call to stick with Marsch through an eight-game winless streak and dissent among supporters.

"For me, Andrea has been supportive and with us and behind us every step along the way, you know, so I'm thankful for my relationship with him," said the head coach.

"He's helped this club immensely, immensely over the six and a half years or however long it is. So I think everybody should have a very high appreciation for the work that he's done in the investment that he's made."