Championship: Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino makes U-turn on agreement to sell club to fans

Football News 24/7

Leeds owner Massimo Cellino has informed fan group Leeds Fans United (LFU) that he is no longer willing to sell them the club, just a few days after naming his price at £30m if they wish to buy his majority stake.

The Italian is currently banned after breaching the Football League's fit and proper owners test after being charged with tax offences in his homeland.

He is appealing the ban, but conceded that it would be best if he no longer attended matches at Elland Road, with home fans becoming increasingly more vocal about their opposition to his ownership.

Last Friday he said he would be willing to sell the club to the LFU, and they claimed on Tuesday that Cellino would be willing to sell them the club for £30m.

However, the group have this morning released a statement which says, "We've been informed by the lawyers of Cellino he no longer wishes to sell to Leeds fans,".

"Our insistence on him confirming his verbal offer of exclusivity in a legally binding agreement has forced transparency on his motives. It is much better that we identify this insincerity now before we spend our shareholders' money."

The statement continued, "This exercise has proved our capacity to adapt to any acquisition scenario very quickly. We now know we have the capacity to do both a minority and majority deal, and it has shown that Leeds fans have a desire for fan ownership."

"We hope that Massimo will treat the club and fans with respect and honour."

Fans can take some solace at least after seeing their side win their first home win since March. Their 1-0 win over Cardiff was also new manager Steve Evans' first win for the club.