A leaked pitch to investors laid out the 49ers' plan for Leeds – and there were two big hints at Rangers' involvement
16:03, 10 Sep 2025Updated 16:09, 10 Sep 2025
Paraag Marathe, Chairman of Leeds United and of 49ers Enterprises, (L), speaks to Morrie Eisenberg, Chief Operating Officer of Leeds United
Paraag Marathe, Chairman of Leeds United and of 49ers Enterprises, (L), speaks to Morrie Eisenberg, Chief Operating Officer of Leeds United(Image: Getty Images)
Leeds Utd see their partnership with Rangers as a key part of the plan to double the club's value over the next five years.
That's according to a leaked pitch to investors, which also hints the Ibrox side are set to become more fully involved with the Red Bull network.
The San Francisco 49ers' investment group have ambitious plans for both clubs after a summer that saw them return Leeds to the Premier League and buy a controlling stake in Rangers.
The Ibrox takeover, exclusively broken by Record Sport, was the biggest football story of the summer and has since seen the 49ers invest £30m in the playing squad in their first summer in charge.
They've not hung about at Leeds either who have spent more than £100m on new arrivals since their return to the Premier League.
And that's just the start of it.
In the last 24 hours, The Athletic have leaked a 50-slide pitch the Leeds decision-makers have drawn up which has been presented to prospective investors and it includes plans to invest around £300m in new signings over the next three transfer windows.
The lengthy document outlines their desire to become a 'stable Premier League club' between now and 2030, and includes an ambitious projection to grow the club's value from £527.5m currently to £1bn by then.
Notably from an Ibrox perspective, it includes a number of actions on how they plan to get there, one of which is 'leaning into the multi-club partnership with Rangers, and the rest of the Red Bull network.'
That's perhaps a hint that Paraag Marathe, who holds a dual role as chairman at Leeds and vice chairman at Ibrox, sees Rangers as being more fully involved with the likes of RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg than is currently officially the case.
The energy drinks brand, who spent a reported £75m on a minority stake in Leeds in 2024, haven't been directly involved at Ibrox as yet but reports over the summer hinted it wouldn't be long before that is the case.
It was even claimed they could be set to become the new front of shirt sponsor at Rangers.
It could also be an indication that Leeds plan to deal directly with Rangers on the transfer front over the next few summers – be that loaning out promising talents to Ibrox or raiding them for their more valuable players who they feel could make the step up to the Premier League.
No players moved directly between the clubs this summer although the 49ers did shell out to take one of Leeds' key players from last season, Joe Rothwell, from Bournemouth to Rangers in a permanent deal.
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