New Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe: ‘The Premier League needs us, they know that’ - The Athletic 18/7/23
By Phil Hay
New Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe has said the
Premier League “needs” the club because they make the top flight “more
special”.
The 49ers Enterprises’ purchase of the club has now been
confirmed and Marathe, who was previously vice chairman and a board member of
the club, has taken over from Andrea Radrizzani after the Italian agreed to
sell his majority stake in the club.
Marathe led the transition to the 49ers Enterprises and in
an interview with the official Leeds United Podcast, spoke about how important
the club, who were relegated to the Championship last season, are to England’s
top flight.
“I hate the fact that we didn’t get the chance to stay in
the Premier League,” he said. “But one thing it did show me. Everybody tells me
that Leeds deserves to be in the Premier League because it is a big club and
that is true.
“The Premier League needs Leeds. Call it whatever you want.
The way we play. The tenacity in which we play. Our history. The Premier League
needs us. They know that they need us because we make the league more special.
“There is something different about Leeds. It is not like
these other clubs. A lot of these clubs have had great success. Better success
than we have had. But we have something that they do not have. There is a
movement beneath the surface, and I want to be a part of that movement and I
cannot wait to see what that becomes in five, ten years.”
Marathe also spoke about his 20-year history in sports and
how his past makes him different from other chairmen in football.
He said: “It has been an interesting ride the last four or
five years. I have been a passenger on the train so far. I haven’t really had
my chance on the controls or had a front-seat view of how a football club runs.
I have learned a lot over that time.
“I am different from your typical chairman or owner. I am
not a fifth-generation multi-billionaire who is doing this for a hobby or wants
to kill some time. That is quite the opposite. I came up on my own and I grew
up loving sports. That is first and foremost who I am. I love competition. I
love winning. I have always had a chip on my shoulder because this is not a
hobby, this is life to me. This is something that I am meant to do. I am a
supporter first.
“I have a particular empathy and understanding of everyone’s
jobs at the club because I have done all of those jobs. 23 years at the 49ers
starting as an unpaid intern. I have been the head negotiator. I have been the
president or chief executive of a team. I have built a stadium. I have hired
coaches. I have been through the peaks and troughs of mountains in support. I
have seen it all and been through it all. I think that differentiates me from
any other club’s chairman.”
In a statement, the club confirmed that Angus Kinnear, a
board member and the club’s CEO, would remain in his current position, and
continue to direct day-to-day operations while Rudy Cline-Thomas will join the
board as co-owner and vice chairman.
Marathe said that his new role at the club had made him feel
inspired and offered insight into the club’s search for a new manager before
appointing Daniel Farke earlier this month.
He said: “I am feeling inspired. There is so much work to do
to get back up to the Premier League and get the club back to where it belongs
both on and off the pitch. We want this club to be something that everybody can
be proud of. Not just players and coaches, but supporters and sponsors. It is
something that is inspiring to me. I am carrying the torch on behalf of
everybody else.
“We had everything done and every box checked, ready to do
the takeover had we stayed up. That was going to be a fairly easy handover had
that happened because months and months of work had gone into it at that point.
Of course, when we were relegated, it opened up a whole new can of worms. The
approval times have taken a little bit longer than we had wanted.
“We were still working in the meantime. We went through
dozens of interviews with first-team managers and football people who could
help us really feel good about the direction we are going in. There was a lot
of work that went in behind the scenes.”