Leeds United ‘Out of their minds’ if they U-turn on Red Bull promise at Elland Road

Ian Darke says Leeds United would be “out of their minds” in the long term if they were to decide to go back on their Red Bull promise to fans.

 

Following the energy drink giant’s investment in the club – including the most lucrative sponsorship agreement in Championship history – Paraag Marathe was quick to pacify concerns over a potential over-involvement with club traditions.

Red Bull oversees a multi-club footballing organisation with the likes of Leipzig, Salzburg and New York who they rebranded, alongside their heavy Formula One influence, and fans were angered in pre-season over the red-adorned logo plastering over the new home shirt.

 

Renowned commentator Darke, speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, said: “If you’re an owner of a club like Leeds United, steeped in tradition, it’s a suicide job to let a sponsor have as much influence as they have done elsewhere.

 

“The club would be out of their minds if in the long-term they were to allow Red Bull to do that, despite the reassurances we’ve heard.

“But whatever you think of Red Bull’s involvement with the clubs they own, for example, Leipzig, they’re not walking away from them and have invested heavily in progressing them, however you see that.”

Leeds United and Red Bull developments continue

One key feature of Leeds’ partnership with Red Bull – particularly the timing of it – was that it extinguished a lot of the PSR fears back in June.

 

Thanks to a blend of player sales and this external investment, there is a financial feel-good factor at Elland Road that was contrary to what we were hearing some months ago.

 

Of course, for a club and fanbase like Leeds or the vast majority in English football, there is no room for franchising and many fans understandably pointed towards the company’s already bulging sports empire.

In European football this most notably includes Leipzig – a fifth-division German club relocated and rebranded, now a regular competitor in the Champions League but with a hollow soul and a lowly level of support.