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NBA star follows Jordan Spieth's lead as Leeds United takeover details emerge
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are not the only American sports stars to have put their faith in Leeds United making a return to the Premier League.
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Another American sports star has confirmed that he is part of the consortium led by 49ers Enterprises who are set to become the new owners of Leeds United. Los Angeles Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook revealed that he will become a minority investor in the Elland Road club as soon as the deal is ratified by the English Football League.
The update from Russell - who was the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2017 - comes hot on the heels of Jordan Spieth confirming on Thursday that his own minority investment in Leeds, alongside PGA Tour colleague Justin Thomas, is "done".
Westbrook, who is the 14th highest-paid athlete in the world, according to Forbes, will now be keeping a close eye on Championship football after the Yorkshire club was relegated from the Premier League on the final day of last season.
Confirming the news at a sports and entertainment summit held by Sportico, Russell said: "I was lucky enough to have conversations with some of the partners in this deal, who already have ownership in the 49ers.
"So I was lucky enough to talk through that with friends, talking with my business partner as well about different things and having conversations, figuring out if this was the right deal and how we could make it different."
The inclusion of nine-time NBA All-Star player Russell in the takeover deal, alongside Spieth and Thomas, is a real boost for Leeds, who will be looking to plot a return to the Premier League as quickly as possible.
49ers Enterprises, who are the investment arm of NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers, already own a minority stake in United, which has already been increased once, but a deal with current chairman Andrea Radrizzani to take a controlling stake of the club has already been agreed.
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The value of that deal was downgraded to £170m following the club's relegation to the Championship, but with Radrizzani's own group having completed a takeover of Italian club Sampdoria, finalising the American takeover at Elland Road is now expected to be a mere formality once the EFL's owners and directors test has been concluded.
A third PGA Tour golfer, Rickie Fowler, had been expected to be part of the consortium, but on Thursday, Speith confirmed that the Californian star had pulled out of the deal after Leeds were relegated.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Speith said: “Relegation wasn’t ideal, but we got involved with the 49ers group. We thought it would be a cool opportunity."