Red Bull has added another team to it’s ownership list after the announcement that they will become minority owners of EFL Championship side Leeds United. Both Red Bull and Leeds have courted each other over the years and now the energy drink behemoth will finally dip its toes into English football, injecting cash into the Yorkshire club and becoming their new kit sponsor.
“The ambition to bring Leeds United back to the Premier League and establish themselves in the best football league in the world fits very well with Red Bull,” said Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff. “We look forward to a partnership and are optimistic and energized about the future.”
Questions of just how involved Red Bull will be in Leeds popped up almost immediately. The Austrian company has a history of fully renovating clubs in their portfolio, complete with name, logo and color changes. However, none of that is expected at Leeds. They are also not expected to take a seat on Leeds United’s board of directors. In essence, it is a cash injection both on the ownership level and as a kit sponsor which will more than likely be the most lucrative in England’s second division.
The history between these two entities goes back quite some way. Back in 2014 it was reported that a 60 million pound takeover bid was in its advanced stages. At the time, Leeds United were a mid-table Championship club that hadn’t seen the first division in over a decade. While Red Bull did already own Salzburg and Leipzig, the two clubs had yet to occupy the first division or a UEFA competition at the same time. A purchase of Leeds would have brought the eventual conflict of interest to the forefront. That issue was settled in 2018 when Leipzig qualified for the Champions League and resulted in the subsequent rebranding of Red Bull Salzburg.
Other issues plagued the deal at the time, including legal battles within ownership groups saw Red Bull step aside and Cagliari president Massimo Cellino step in with a group named Sports Capital to take over the club. While, the relationship on the ownership end went dormant between the two sides, Red Bull Global Soccer continued a relationship with Leeds which included seeing players such as Jean-Kevin Augustin joining the club. Eventually former Leipzig manager Jesse Marsch also joined the club before they were relegated back to the EFL Championship at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Currently, Red Bull’s portfolio covers major portions of the world but only have a profile in one of Europe’s top leagues, Germany. Unlike City Football Group which has ownership in Manchester City (England) and Girona (Spain), Red Bull has been unable to break into any of the other top four leagues. This move chances that.
While early expectations are that Red Bull will have little say in the day-to-day operations, most takeover bids start this slow and eventually grow into something far more substantial. At minimum, Red Bull now sees itself as a player in the English football hierarchy with a potential to take bigger strides in years to come.
photo by Matt Kremkau