Paraag Marathe's X-rated outburst as Leeds United 'best club in Europe' promise made
The Leeds United chairman was aboard the bus for Monday’s title celebrations.
Paraag Marathe is determined to make Leeds United ‘one of the best clubs in Europe’ after securing promotion back to the Premier League.
Leeds secured the Championship title after beating Plymouth Argyle 2-1 on Saturday, with goals from Willy Gnonto and Manor Solomon - the latter coming deep into added-time - ensuring Daniel Farke’s side racked up an incredible 100 points. As a result, Monday’s open-top bus parade through the city centre was done with the proper trophy on hand as tens of thousands of fans lined the streets.
Alongside the players was Leeds chairman Marathe, who over the weekend confirmed to the YEP and other local press he will stand by Farke through the summer and into next season amid speculation over the German’s future. And the 49ers Enterprises chief reflected on an incredibly difficult two-year effort his manager and squad went through to get to the point of celebration.
“I don’t think anyone realised, this wasn’t f****** easy,” Marathe told LUTV. “It was really hard to do, two years of getting to this point, but all that hard work and difficulty makes right now more rewarding and that makes it more special. I hope I never forget this moment.
“I want to live in the moment as much as I can, but this is a journey. Success is not final, we have to keep going, that's what Leeds do, we keep fighting. We’re going to have some difficulties but we're going to get where we want to go and we’re going to be one of the best clubs in Europe.”
Paraag Marathe’s Leeds United transfer promise
Marathe will need to oversee a near-perfect summer of recruitment if Leeds are to survive next season, which feels necessary if plans to become ‘one of the best clubs in Europe’ are to be fulfilled. Reinforcements will be needed across the board and links to players have already started to emerge.
Profitability and sustainability Rules (PSR) will prohibit Leeds from throwing unlimited money at the Premier League but with an increase in revenue to come, there will be freedom to invest. And speaking to the YEP over the weekend, Marathe insisted all available funds will be put towards strengthening Farke’s squad.
"Like I said, we're going to spend every penny that we can, that we're allowed to spend and reinvest everything back into the club,” he said. “So whatever that PSR limit tells us we can go to, we're going to go to.
"You've got to nail your transfers. You've got to nail the players that come in that really fit the style of play that you want to have, that fit the club and and play together cohesively.
“I think that's really important. Some lessons learned from the three years when I was sitting as a vice chairman, watching us do what we did those three years. No doubt we had tremendous success in our first season in the Prem.
“But we weren't really thinking about building a plan for multiple years. We were just sort of pay as you go, fly by the seat of our pants. And I think that's probably something that those clubs [who have established themselves in the top flight], whether it be Bournemouth or Forest or Villa, they're building a multi-year plan.
“And yes, of course, it doesn't take away from anything on focusing on that one season, but it's a multi-year plan, building out a foundation. The first year is survival, not compete, it's survival, I get that. Anything more than that would be gravy, but it's building a plan and that's something that we're focused on."
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