Leeds Fans Utd reach 'agreement in principle' to purchase Massimo Cellino's stake at club

Supporters club Leeds Fans Utd have reached an 'agreement to purchase Massimo Cellino's stake

SUPPORTERS group Leeds Fans Utd says they have reached “an agreement in principle” to purchase president Massimo Cellino’s stake in the Championship club.

 

Italian Cellino, currently appealing against a Football League ban, is thought to have met with fans on Friday as he looks for a way out of Elland Road, and a tweet from the supporters’ group read: “Leeds Fans Utd has today reached agreement in principle with Massimo Cellino to purchase a majority stake in Leeds United Football Club.”

Cellino confirmed a deal could be close, saying: “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.”

Many Leeds fans voiced their opposition to Cellino during the club’s 2-0 home defeat by Blackburn on Thursday night. The day before the match, he lodged an appeal against a ban – his second – for breaching the Football League’s owners’ and directors’ rules following a conviction for tax evasion this year.

 

Cellino confirmed a deal was close after his failed appeal against his ban to the Football League

Cellino has already served a previous ban from January until May.

If he is unsuccessful with his appeal, the 59-year-old, who took over at Elland Road in April 2014, will be unable to take part in the day-to-day running of the club, forcing him to pass control to someone else.

“I’m sad and embarrassed. My dream was to do my best but I’ve achieved nothing and family aren’t even with me.

“I’m trying to protect the club but at the same time it means I have exposed myself. The result is that the fans say ‘Massimo it’s time to go’.”