Football League Put Cellino’s Proposed Leeds United Takeover on Hold as More Information Requested

Massimo Cellino’s potential takeover of English Championship outfit Leeds United has been put in hold after the Football League wait on more information before they ratify the deal.  

The club’s current owners Gulf Finance House Ltd (GFH) confirmed earlier this month that they agreed the sale of the club to Eleonara Sport, owned by Italian Cellino. Cellino will spend £25million to own a 75% share of the Yorkshire outfit.

The Football League met to discuss Cellino’s potential buy-out on Tuesday, but have requested more time to rubberstamp the deal as they seek more information on the Miami-based businessman.

In a statement, the Football League said: “The Football League remains in discussions with both the owners and proposed purchasers of Leeds United, regarding the planned change of ownership.

“To date, a significant amount of the requested information has been supplied by GFH and Eleonora Sport, but there are still a number of outstanding matters that will require further submissions from the two parties. There is also the realistic prospect of there being further questions arising out of these submissions that they will be required to answer.

“The board of the Football League is next scheduled to meet on March 13 where it will receive an update on the matter from the League’s executive, unless all the remaining issues can be resolved satisfactorily in advance of this date.”

Cellino’s past includes previous convictions from his time in Italy, where he owns Serie A club Cagliari.