Speaking on The Athletic Football Podcast, Phil Hay has shared some insight into the sacking of Jesse Marsch at Leeds United and who made the call to get rid of the American.
As many will know, Leeds United’s current ownership structure is quite complicated.
Andrea Radrizzani is the chairman, but he looks set to sell the club to the San Francisco 49ers in the near future.
The 49ers currently own 44 per cent of Leeds United and have a major say on investment and signings at the moment.
The 49ers reportedly agreed to pay the transfer fee for Georginio Rutter in January, and their influence is only growing.
However, according to Hay, when it came to the sacking of Marsch, Andrea Radrizzani was the one who had the final say.
Radrizzani decided Marsch was going
Hay shared what he knows about this situation.
“Who made the decision to get rid?” Hay was asked.
“In the end, the decision was Andrea Radrizzani’s, the club’s chairman. I suspect we’ll get into this more, but to a degree a lot at Leeds is being decided by a committee and by the two sides that are there,” Hay said.
“Radrizzani is the majority shareholder at the moment, but 49ers’ enterprises have over a 40 per cent share and have a deal to buy the club and there is intention to buy the club. Everything has to be decided, the discussion is constantly who is paying for what and the difference it makes for the future purchase price.
“It’s complicated and it isn’t a scenario that can persist for much longer.”
Right call
Say what you will about Andrea Radrizzani’s decisions as the owner of Leeds United over the years, he’s usually made the right calls when it comes to hiring and firing managers.
Marcelo Bielsa’s appointment was inspired, while his sacking was timed correctly too. Jesse Marsch was brought in to keep Leeds up, which he did, and now, he’s been sacked at the right time too.
Let’s hope that Radrizzani can make another mid-season appointment that will keep Leeds in the top-flight.
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