da bet7k： Gladiator star Russell Crowe has revealed that he was “a phone call” from buying Leeds before fellow Hollywood actors invested in British football.
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New Zealand native is a big Leeds fanConsidered launching a takeover bidNow owns a minority stake in the clubWHAT HAPPENED?
Despite being a Wellington native, Crowe has nailed his colours to a footballing mast at Elland Road. He has voiced a documentary series for the club and follows the exploits of the team looking to bounce back into the Premier League at the first time of asking with great interest.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT CROWE SAID ABOUT LEEDS
That fandom was almost taken to the extreme at one point, with Crowe telling of acquiring a stake in Leeds after previously mulling over a complete takeoever: “Yeah, I bought a little bit recently. Seven or eight years ago, maybe 10 years ago – which is where, you know, the TV thing comes from – I just expressed that I felt that should be doing a lot better. So I actually really did seriously pursue it. The reason I don’t talk about it so much is because every time I talk about it, certain types of Leeds fans then go, ‘you’re sort of trying to, you know, build your own career by talking about our football club.’ But I just felt that they just needed a bit more focus. And I don’t know if you know, but I own a Rugby League team in Australia. We’re having a bad start to the year this year, but you know, you’ve got to look for the good stuff. And that will come out of it. But yeah, so at the time, I looked into it, and it really came down, [I] was very close, it was really close – like a phone call or two away from me doing it. But then the reality of it sort of hit me.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Crowe added on why the deal was never completed: “The reality of it hit me, because I remembered what it was like in the first three to four years of running South [Sydney Rabbitohs], and how much time it took. And I started to calculate, I'm going to be in Leeds minimum six to seven months a year for the next four years. And my family life, my kids, all of that stuff, the other responsibilities I have, and I just took a step back. However, I still believed it was a really good idea. And then when the Italian fella [Andrea Radrizzani] came along – and I think the idea of the TV show was inspired by a show we did called South Side Story with Sydney anyway – but the idea of the voice over came up through a friend of mine, who once back in the day was a part owner or whatever. And so I just agreed to do it because I thought it was a great story. And of course, you know, people have loved that show.”
Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT?
Leeds did return to the Premier League in 2020, but lasted just two season back in the big time before suffering relegation last season. They are now riding high in the Championship table, as they push for automatic promotion, while Crowe has been quick to distance himself from talk of potentially joining Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as an investor at Wrexham.