Andrea Radrizzani interview: I love Leeds United but I made some very bad decisions - these are the calls I regret, and why I secretly loved Marcelo Bielsa's 'Spygate' scandal

It is over two years since Andrea Radrizzani last visited Elland Road. 

When Leeds were on their way to being relegated to the Championship in 2023, the then owner was working on selling his majority stake to 49ers Enterprises. 

On the day they went down after losing at home to Tottenham, Radrizzani was in Italy finalising a deal to take over Sampdoria.

‘That time when I didn’t attend was a nightmare in my life,' Radrizzani tells Daily Mail Sport. 'It was totally wrong for me not to come to Elland Road. I watched the game in Milan. In my last year at Leeds, I made many mistakes and I was struggling outside of football too. 

'I made wrong decisions. I should have done things sooner like changing the coach (Jesse Marsch) before the 2022 World Cup but at that moment it didn’t work out and it is what it is. We don’t go anywhere with ifs and buts but I still have some regrets of course.’ 

More on those regrets later.  

For Radrizzani, who was initially hugely popular when he completed a full takeover in 2017 from fellow Italian Massimo Cellino, that was the end of a rollercoaster ride that also included the high of promotion to the Premier League in 2020. But with the 2023 relegation, the value of the club plummeted, and the 51-year-old eventually agreed to sell for £170million just weeks after the Leeds United Supporters Club released a statement saying he was ‘no longer an appropriate person to own'. 

‘With relegation, I should not have sold because it was a better business decision to keep the club but I wasn’t in the right mind to continue,' admits Radrizzani. 'I was overwhelmed, alone and not in the condition to carry on with such a big responsibility.'

Those were tough times for Radrizzani and his family, who became Leeds fans.

‘We still follow the club. I’m still emotionally attached,’ he says. ‘My son is a huge Leeds fan like me. He’s nine so when he was little, he grew up with Leeds United in his blood. It’s a bit weird as everyone in Italy asks which team he supports and his answer is Leeds - they’re like, "Are you sure it’s not Juventus or AC Milan?".'

Now with Daniel Farke’s side back in the top flight and things looking up, Radrizzani plans to return to the place he once called home. This time, purely for enjoyment. The clash against West Ham at Elland Road on Friday, October 24 has been pencilled in for his return.

‘I will come soon to watch a game. I miss it,’ Radrizzani reveals. ‘I didn’t want to come in the Championship because it would hurt me - but now it’s time to come back. I am in touch with Paraag (Marathe, Leeds' chairman). It will be soon.’

Radrizzani's ownership of Leeds came about after a chance lunch in 2016, when Kenny Dalglish suggested the Yorkshire club was a sleeping giant, but Radrizzani admits he still underestimated it. He describes Dalglish’s words as the ‘best but most dangerous’ advice he was ever given.

‘I wasn't aware of how massive this club is. When we were in the Championship, I did this documentary with Amazon and I had fans talking with me everywhere in New York and California and even getting messages from India and Australia. That’s when I thought that this club is really something else. We are everywhere.’

There were the early days with Cellino - a man known as the ‘manager-eater’ who went through seven permanent bosses in three years at Elland Road - whom Radrizzani paid just £45m to buy the club from outright in 2017.

‘That period was fun,' says Radrizzani. 'I learnt a lot from Massimo but we had a totally different approach. Massimo had better knowledge in football business than me but didn’t want to risk investing so much in potential promotion. I saw the opportunity and invested a lot of money. But he was so entertaining to watch games with. I would love to sit next to him every game just for the comments on the referees and the players.’

Yet even the madness of what unfolded during the Cellino era could not have prepared Radrizzani for Marcelo Bielsa. A man he describes as ‘unbelievable’, who was appointed under him at the suggestion of Victor Orta, the director of football.

Radrizzani laughs when he recalls the ‘Spygate’ saga under Bielsa, when the Argentine manager sent a young intern to spy on Frank Lampard’s Derby County. He explains how he was initially furious but over time, came to love the furore.

‘I was in the car when I got the call to tell me the police found someone and I could not believe it,’ says Radrizzani. ‘I was worried then angry but in the end it was so entertaining that I loved it. I didn’t like the reaction of the media because it wasn’t that (bad). We had a lot of enemies in the end. I guess you either love or hate Leeds. I lost contact with Marcelo but I would love to see him at the World Cup next year.’

Radrizzani was the man who, alongside Orta, reluctantly sacked Bielsa in 2022. The decision was justified at the time as Leeds stayed up but it is one that he still regrets.

‘Marcelo was a great catalyst for Leeds as a city. I regret that I sacked him but in that moment it was a rational decision to try and save the club in the Premier League. I could see the players were exhausted mentally and physically and we were losing many games. 

'It was one of the toughest decisions of my life which was probably wrong because what Marcelo did was bigger than just the results. But it was the rational approach to a problematic situation.' 

After Bielsa came Marsch, who kept Leeds up but was sacked less than a year later. Marsch said the decision was ‘foolish’ and Radrizzani ‘lost his nerve’. But Radrizzani wishes he had replaced Marsch sooner.

‘We spent a lot of time trying to find someone with a similar style of play as Marcelo. I regret that we didn’t change sooner. Jesse is a good coach but I could see signs of frustration and misunderstanding with the team. We could have had Unai Emery or Julen Lopetegui but we missed that window. Then we tried with Arne Slot and Andoni Iraola after the World Cup but it was too late. It was my responsibility.’

In those last six months, things turned toxic as Leeds tumbled into the Championship with Javi Gracia sacked after two-and-a-half months and Sam Allardyce winning just one point in four games.

Radrizzani likes the current Leeds side under Farke and praises the 49ers for showing patience with the German, insisting that ‘he’s proving he was the right choice’.

‘I’m happy with what they’ve achieved,' he says. 'The team doesn’t concede much and it’s well organised with solid players in the middle. They need a few more goals but I’m positive.'

At Leeds, Radrizzani was known for frequently using social media to respond to fans but after selling up, he says he has cut down on his screen time. I bring up his last tweet from November 2024.

It reads: ‘I hear you all. Since June 2023, I’ve been criticised, abused, insulted any time I say a word about anything. It doesn’t change that we (management and all club employees) invested, transformed, modernised the club and finally achieved historical promotion after 17 years thanks to Marcelo Bielsa.’

Now he looks back fondly, saying Leeds was his passion. 

‘I was very ambitious, bullish,’ Radrizzani says. ‘I had great momentum in those years of my life and I was convinced of keeping Leeds in the Premier League, playing in Europe and achieving more like a redeveloped Elland Road. I should have made more changes sooner but I tend to be loyal and that was another mistake.'

One change the Italian should not have attempted was to alter the club badge in 2018. A strong fan backlash ensued and he climbed down.

‘It was an honour to own this club. Under my leadership, revenues boosted from £36m with Cellino to £60m in the Championship and £210m in the Premier League. There were long term partnerships with adidas and others, new infrastructure, the renovation of Thorp Arch and the facilities at Elland Road,’ says Radrizzani.

He points out players sold under him like Raphinha (£55m) and Kalvin Phillips (£45m) and the fact that he left a squad with great value - Leeds sold the likes of Tyler Adams (£20m), Archie Gray (£30m), Crysencio Summerville (£25m), Georginio Rutter (£40m) and Luis Sinisterra (£20m) across 2023 and 2024.

And he shares his pride at finally seeing plans to expand Elland Road make progress, saying he loves the feel of the current stadium but that a revamp is necessary. Radrizzani believes that a training ground closer to the city centre is the next step.

These days, Radrizzani, who lives in Italy, splits his time across sport, media and technology.

‘I prayed a lot all the time (at Leeds), particularly in the play-off semi-final against Derby, then we lost,‘ he adds. 'The next year I stopped praying for football and promotion arrived. God delivers in his own time.’

‘I still speak to owners. Everyone becomes addicted to the business. It’s dangerous and risky because it’s so competitive. Look at established clubs like West Ham and Wolves and the danger they’re already in at this stage of the season. The addiction is because of the adrenaline that no other business gives you.   

'When you make so many people happy because of your investment and your work, it’s a glory that nothing can give you. I thank everyone involved.’ 

Having had time to reflect, he speaks about his improved health and with a smile on his face, says, ‘at least I don’t suffer anymore with football like I used to’.

Moments after we wrap our interview, Radrizzani texts me to say he is concerned about what the fan response will be. He clearly still adores the club. The final destination under his stewardship was bleak but everyone associated with Leeds will never forget the journey. The sleeping giant finally woke up.

‘It was an honour to be there at one of the special moments in Leeds’ history - the return to the Premier League,’ he says. It is up to the fans to make their own judgments but no one can take that away from Andrea Radrizzani.