On Friday, Leeds United fans everywhere were overjoyed when it emerged that Massimo Cellino had agreed to sell the club to a consortium of fans under the name 'Leeds Fans Utd'. With all the continuous upheaval around Elland Road over the past few years, it finally looked like it was about to calm down and Leeds fans would be able to try and sort it all out themselves.
Speaking after an 'agreement in principle' had been made Cellino himself confirmed that things were looking up for the beleaguered club.
One hundred per cent I will sell to the fans, if they want to buy it and look after the club. The fans are the only asset the club has.
However, less than a week later that 'in principle' part of the agreement has come back to bite Leeds' fans in the ass. On Wednesday morning, Leeds Fans Utd released the following statement.
Leeds Fans Utd has just been informed by the lawyers of Massimo Cellino that he no longer wishes to sell to Leeds fans.
Our insistence on him confirming his verbal offer of exclusivity in a legally binding agreement has forced transparency on his motives.
It is much better that we identify this insincerity now before we spend our shareholders' money. This exercise has proved our capacity to adapt to any acquisition scenario very quickly.
We now know we have the capacity to do both a minority and majority deal, and it has shown that Leeds fans have a desire for fan ownership.
We hope that Massimo will treat the club and fans with respect and honour.
All that essentially means is that, contrary to what they had believed, if the fans want to buy the club they'll have to get in line with anyone else who has similar ambitions and then it's highest bidder wins.
The group are adamant that they have the funds to complete the deal but it's certainly a blow in compared to what had been expected at the end of last week.
