Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani ‘offered Elland Road as collateral’ to secure a bank loan for the purchase of Sampdoria

Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani has reportedly offered Elland Road as collateral when securing a £26m bank loan to buy Sampdoria.

The 48-year-old, who is the majority owner of Los Merengues, recently announced that he has agreed to buy the newly relegated Serie A side.

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And according to The Athletic, a tentative deal saw him offered Leeds Stadium when acquiring the funds to take over the Italian side.

The outlet says Radrizzani took out a £26m loan from Italian bank Banca Sistema – where he was willing to use Elland Road in order to secure approval.

It has been said that the land could serve as security for Radrizzani for up to ten years.

Although they said it is unclear whether Elland Road was included in the final deal, or used a different route to secure the loan.

But if included in the final deal, he runs the risk of the stadium being owned by the bank if Sampdoria implodes financially.

Leeds do not own the rights to Elland Road, but the owners of the stadium are a UK company called Elland Road Limited – of which Radrizzani is a director.

It remains to be seen whether Radrizzani will continue as chairman of Leeds after the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

The minority shareholders of 49ers Enterprises were close to reaching an agreement in case Leeds remained standing.

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But no price has been set in case they fall in the championship.

The Athletic also claimed the 49ers were left in the dark by Radrizzani’s choice to use Elland Road as collateral for his bank loan.

They claimed that Radrizzani refused to answer when asked if the stadium had been included in the deal.