In the 2022–2023 season, Leeds earned £177.6 million in revenue while playing in the Premier League and finishing 27th in the world football rankings.

With 49ers Enterprises now in charge as well, the football financial specialist acknowledged that if Leeds return to the Premier League soon this season, there is enormous development potential.

“That emphasises those points,” he said in an exclusive interview with MOT Leeds News.

“The first is how financially isolated the Premier League is from the rest of Europe; if you look at the teams in the top 20 of that league and the spots 21–30, you can see where the money is.”

Leeds United is currently in the Championship, so you would expect them to fall off the list in the next iteration given how much of that is funded by Premier League broadcasting. However, if Leeds United can quickly return to the Premier League and then rekindle that boost in revenue from the broadcasting side of things and factor in the wider potential of the club, tie in with the ownership and plans for growth, then you start to see the potential.

“I think it’s unlikely we will see Leeds in the top 30 in the next edition, but if they get back into the Premier League pretty quickly, they will start to be in that mix again from a revenue point of view, and they are outperforming some pretty big hitters in the European football market.”

Leeds United back to the Premier League

The Whites moved up to second in the Championship after breaking yet another EFL record en route to another three points at Plymouth last time out.

The prospect of falling six points behind the top is alluring, especially with a crucial match against Leicester scheduled for Friday, February 23 at Elland Road.

Ideally, the team can achieve promotion back to the Premier League prior to the onset of anxiety.