Russell Crowe was 'phone call away' from buying Leeds United — Leeds Live 15/4/24
The Aussie superstar has said he came extremely close to outright buying the Whites a decade ago
Russell Crowe has revealed he was once a 'phone call away'
from buying Leeds United.
The Aussie superstar, known for Gladiator and A Beautiful
Mind, was interviewed in the Radio X studio this morning (April 15) by
presenter and fellow Whites fan Chris Moyles. He was there to discuss his
forthcoming appearance at this summer’s Glastonbury Festival with his band
Indoor Garden Party.
The topic came about when Moyles asked about Crowe's
involvement with the Prime Video docu-series Take Us Home, which was narrated
by the 60-year-old actor. Crowe spoke about how he had been supporting the team
ever since the 70s, during the great Don Revie era when the club was at its
best.
Crowe became a minority investor in the club when majority
stakeholders San Francisco 49ers Enterprises took over from Andrea Radrizzani,
last year. Crowe revealed how he came 'a phone call away' from buying the
football club outright a decade ago, before ‘reality hit’ him and he decided to
take a step back.
Crowe said: "I bought a little bit recently. Seven or
eight years ago, maybe 10 years ago – which is where, you know, the TV thing
comes from – I just expressed that I felt that should be doing a lot better. So
I actually really did seriously pursue it. The reason I don’t talk about it so
much is because every time I talk about it, certain types of Leeds fans then
go, ‘you’re sort of trying to, you know, build your own career by talking about
our football club.’
"But I just sort of felt that they just needed a bit
more focus. And I don’t know if you know, but I own a Rugby League team in
Australia. We’re having a bad start to the year this year, but you know, you’ve
got to look for the good stuff. And that will come out of it. But yeah, so at
the time, I looked into it, and it really came down, [I] was very close, it was
really close – like a phone call or two away from me doing it. But then the
reality of it sort of hit me.”
Explaining why he took a step back, he added: “But the
reality of it hit me, because I remembered what it was like in the first three
to four years of running South [Sydney Rabbitohs], and how much time it took.
And I started to calculate, I'm going to be in Leeds minimum six to seven
months a year for the next four years. And my family life, my kids, all of that
stuff, the other responsibilities I have, and I just took a step back.