Leeds United has welcomed Red Bull on board as minority owners, bringing one of the most exciting enterprises in world sport to the English league.
The Red Bull Group is entering English football after acquiring a minority investment in Leeds United. The energy drink company, which owns a number of clubs across the world, will now enter England after investing in the former Premier League club days after they were denied promotion in the Championship playoff final.
For Liverpool, there will be interest. In recent years, the Reds have developed an unofficial relationship with two of their other clubs, Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg. Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane, and Takumi Minamino all arrived at Anfield via the Red Bull network at one point or another.
Pep Lijnders, Jürgen Klopp’s former assistant, has also recently taken over as manager at Red Bull Salzburg. And Klopp has made intriguing comments on the “interesting project” that has received a lot of attention in the football world in recent years.
Liverpool played preseason friendlies in Leipzig and Salzburg before the 2022/23 season began. Ahead of their meeting in Austria, Klopp told LFCTV: “What Red Bull is doing is a pretty interesting initiative, I must say. The team is really young, yet extremely talented.
“They change every year, and they sell players, yet they still have a solid team. They’re doing something quite fascinating. The football philosophy is also somewhat similar to ours.
“So it will be intense, it will be high press everywhere, it will be counter-press, we have to find solutions and that’s why we are here.”
Leeds United will now be watching with interest as the “really interesting project” comes to Elland Road, albeit in a smaller, more limited capacity. Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe announced the acquisition, saying: “Red Bull’s addition is a historic milestone that will further empower the club to reach its full competitive potential.”
Leeds United, unlike other Red Bull Group clubs, will retain its name and logo untouched. However, the energy drink brand will take over as the front-of-shirt sponsor.
The club is presently owned by the San Francisco 49ers’ investment arm, 49ers Enterprises, and has a number of celebrity investors, including Russell Crowe, Will Ferrell, and golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
“The ambition to bring Leeds United back to the Premier League and establish themselves in the world’s best football league fits very well with Red Bull,” said Oliver Mintzlaff, the company’s CEO of corporate projects and investments.
