PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi close to buying Championship club

What's the news?

Paris Saint-Germain owner and president of the Qatar Sports Investments, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is keen to buy English Championship side Leeds United.

In case you didn't know...

The Qatar Sports Investments have been looking to expand their business beyond the Ligue 1 champions for a while now, and have zeroed in on Leeds United. The Whites, who finished third in the regular 2018-19 Championship campaign, missed out on gaining promotion back to the Premier League this season after getting knocked out of the Championship playoff semi-finals by Derby County.

The heart of the matter

As per reports, Al-Khelaifi is in advanced talks to buy Championship outfit Leeds United. It has been claimed that Al-Khelaifi and present Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has already met each other in Doha over the proposed deal.

Radrizzani, a 44-year-old Italian entrepreneur, is said to have known the QSI chairman for quite some time now. The Italian is believed to be keen on selling the club after Leeds failed to earn promotion back to the Premier League, with Derby County edging them out in the Championship playoff semi-finals.

If this deal happens, Leeds United could be the third major English club to be run by Arabian investors after Manchester City, who are owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group and Newcastle United, who are expected to be part of the Bin Zayed Group in coming days.

What's next?

Leeds United will once again look for a promotion push next season under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa, with the Argentine tactician deciding to extend his stay at Elland Road for another year by signing a contract extension.