Leeds United majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani, partnered by Matteo Manfredi, agreed a deal in the early hours of Saturday morning to purchase recently-relegated Sampdoria from its controversial owner Massimo Ferrero.
According to reports in Il Corriere dello Sport, the first draft of the agreement was signed in the hours following Samp’s 2-2 draw with Sassuolo in their final home game of the Serie A season on Friday night.
Officially, Sampdoria will be owned by Gestio Partners, Manfredi’s investment fund, which works in collaboration with Aser Group Holding, Radrizzani’s fund, through which he owns Leeds in the Premier League.
Once the takeover has been formalised, the new owners will be tasked with restructuring the club’s debts and paying salaries for the first three months of 2023 if Sampdoria are to avoid a points penalty at the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
The new patrons are said to have put aside €10-12m for immediate investment, and will pay a further €30m to secure the ownership of the club once the Ferrero family have given their final approval, which is expected to happen over the weekend.
After a long and ultimately unsuccessful season under Dejan Stankovic in trying circumstances, Sampdoria will compete in Serie B in 2023-24 after being relegated from the top flight, having recorded just three wins in the league over the course of this season.