Rangers takeover implications amid Leeds United’s surging £80m gamble as financial expert lays out mega money risk
The Elland Road side are leading the English Championship with eight games to play. Leeds United could miss out on a whopping £80million jackpot if they slip up in the Premier League promotion race for the second consecutive season.
And Rangers could face takeover implications with NFL Enterprises set to hold a stake in both clubs. Reports have claimed that according to EFL regulations, a person or group cannot have ownership of more than one British club, preventing the 49ers from being able to own both sides.
The Premier League has no such restrictions – and both the Elland Road and Ibrox faithful will be hoping that Daniel Farke can steer his side to the English top flight to clear any potential hurdles. Going into the final eight games of the season, United sit joint top of the table with Sheffield United and hold a two-point advantage over Burnley in third place. Three defeats in the final four games of last season saw The Whites fall to third in the table last season – before suffering play-off final defeat to Southampton at Wembley.
Alternatively, EFL clubs have reportedly held talks about loosening regulations which prevent the dual ownership of clubs in different competitions – which could leave a second path clear for the takeover. American tycoon Andrew Cavenagh – who is the leading force behind the Rangers takeover – and San Francisco 49ers big hitter Paraag Marathe, who is also Leeds chairman, are set to back the Ibrox takeover and have an agreement in principle over the deal. And Dr Dan Plumley, Sport Finance Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, has laid out the potential implications for the Championship club should they fail to earn promotion.
Speaking to Leeds Live, he said: “The general working assumption when clubs get relegated is they need to get back within three years because that’s when the parachute payment money runs out. “So you get around £40 million the first year, it then drops to about £32m in year two, and then you get a final payment of about £16m in year three. “So you’re always reducing that payment, but obviously then you get nothing from the Premier League after that.
“That’s when you get into the kind of weeds a little bit. So you can retain some players on higher salaries and can still spend a little bit when you’ve got those parachute payments.
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