Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe was seen jogging around the Elland Road pitch many times before the 2-1 defeat to Southampton on May 4.
Before the match, BBC Radio Leeds announcer Adam Pope posted on X that he had observed the club’s owner walk “several laps” around the Elland Road pitch.
Marathe, who is in charge of the 49ers Enterprises investment firm at Elland Road, was in attendance, hopeful that his Leeds team would gain automatic promotion on the final day of the Championship season.
However, despite a good first half performance, Leeds allowed a breakaway goal to go ahead 2-1 10 minutes before halftime, and the Whites were unable to recover in the second half.
The Pope joked, “Paraag Marathe has his steps in.”
Leeds United lose on the final day of their promotion campaign.
Leeds United and 49ers Enterprises have ambitious ambitions for the club’s future, but the investment planned by Marathe and the club’s board is contingent on the Whites returning to the Premier League.
Despite their 2-1 loss to Southampton, Leeds will not finish in the Championship’s top two, but they do have another chance to return to the top flight in the play-offs.
The final day’s results have also confirmed the identities of the four clubs who will compete in the end-of-season finals, with Leeds, Southampton, West Brom, and Norwich City all finishing in the top six.
Daniel Farke will now prepare Leeds to play his previous club Norwich, who will host the Whites at Carrow Road on Sunday, May 12, before travelling to Elland Road four days later for the second leg.
Farke gained automatic promotion twice in three years with Norwich, and if he wants to win the Premier League with Leeds for the first time, he’ll need to get past the Canaries.
