In the wake of this week’s speculation that Russell Crowe is considering a bid for the club, our latest chairman Andrew Umbers has today said that there is no chance of the club being put up for sale.

Another crazy few days in the life of Leeds United began with Massimo Celliono’s surprise announcement on Tuesday that he is going to delay his return to running the club when his current ban ends on April 10. We had all thought he was chomping at the bit to take control again as soon as possible, but he has decided to leave the club in the hands of others while he pursues his legal battle with the Football League.

Cellino is challenging the league’s ruling via the FAs arbitration process and will do so alone to “help the club avoid any sanctions”. While the current ban will probably be over before the FA get round to delivering a verdict on it, the is still the issue of sanctions over the delay in handing over documents relating to the case, and the possibility of a further ban due to a couple of other tax cases Cellino is facing in Italy.

The announcement prompted Russell Crowe to ask his 1.6 million twitter followers whether it was worth him making a bid for the club, and he got a few enthusiastic replies. The New Zealander is apparently a Leeds fan, and at 50 years old he is one of the generation of fans worldwide who were just discovering football while the Revie side was at it’s peak.

Crowe is the owner of Rugby League side South Sydney Rabitohs, whose fortunes have been transformed under his ownership and his current net worth is estimated at around $75 million. But even if he was prepared to invest nearly all that sum, that wouldn’t leave him with much loose change once he’d bought Cellino out and repurchased Elland Road, unless he starred in a few more blockbusters in the meantime.

In any case Andrew Umbers told BBC Sport today that there is no chance of another takeover any time soon. “The club is not for sale, nor do the Cellino family wish to sell and nor have we received any approach. The ongoing legal discussions between Massimo Cellino and the Football League are being completely misinterpreted.”

“Leeds United is currently being successfully restructured, rebuilt, significantly invested in, with care and planning for the longer term with the Cellino family at its heart, for the benefit of its long-suffering and passionate fans, the city and its players and staff.” So there we have it. We’re stuck with the Cellino family for the time being, so we’ll just have to hope that his various legal problems are sorted out pretty soon.

Photo: Action Images

OzTyke added 22:37 - Feb 26 Tim, Russell Crowe's net worth is reportedly anything between 70 and 245 million, but maybe you weren't aware that he only owns HALF of a company that in turn owns 75% of NRL champions South Sydney (the other 25% is owned by financial club members, in an ownership model we can only dream about). His equal partner in tat ownership company is one JAMES PACKER, a good mate of his and fellow sports fan. Google HIS wealth, and it is estimated at US$4.75 BILLION. IMHO, when Russell Crowe says he is a Leeds fan, and he is keen enough to mention our win at Boro and float the idea of ownership and management ethos past his followers, he COULD do it if he (and James) wanted to. Packer could buy Leeds United, Eleonora Sports, GFH and Batesy's stinky gaff in Monaco and not realise the money had gone out of his bank account the next day.

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TimWhelan added 13:57 - Feb 27 Thanks for that. None of the reports here mentioned Packer's involvement, but it would obviously be be very good news if he was part of any bid. However, by the sounds of it Cellino has no intention of selling up anyway.
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