QSI and Leeds expected to acquire shares of Italy's Sampdoria

Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani has made an announcement regarding the acquisition of Sampdoria, an Italian football club, revealing that he has reached an agreement with Massimo Ferrero, the owner of the club according to a note published by L'Equipe on Thursday, June 1.

However, the completion of this takeover is contingent upon obtaining the approval of the creditors of the Genoa-based club, and it is unlikely to be finalized before the end of June.

This could help QSI enter the operation as a part-shareholder along with Leeds' owner, as both sides are interested in investing in Sampdoria ahead of next season, which both parties seem to be at peace with given their good relationships.

According to the information obtained by L'Equipe, Sampdoria is set to receive a financial injection of €40m to address their financial challenges, including salary delays throughout the past few months and a confirmed relegation to Italy's Serie B down from the top-flight division.

The French newspaper suggests that Radrizzani, along with a partner in Matteo Manfredi, will seek additional investors to bolster the club's capital structure, and one potential investor that may be involved is Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), owners of PSG.

QSI, aiming to expand its football influence, has been carefully evaluating the option of acquiring shares in Sampdoria and other clubs as we already reported a few days ago, including Santos (in Brazil) and Malaga (in Spain). The existing close relationship between Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Radrizzani could facilitate this potential operation, says L'Equipe.

QSI, interested in adding Santos and Malaga to their football portfolio

Beyond its renowned ownership of PSG and its 21.67% stake in Portuguese club Braga, QSI is actively engaged in negotiations to acquire multiple minority stakes across the world related to other soccer clubs.

QSI aims to follow the footsteps of other investment funds such as CVC Capital Partners, Redbird, and City Football Group, owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group and known for its association with Manchester City. These funds have successfully ventured into various sports domains, ranging from rugby to football, to achieve a diversified investment profile.

While the talks regarding Sampdoria are in progress, QSI has also expressed interest in other clubs, namely Santos and Malaga. We already discussed such interest last week, with QSI linked to Brazilian side Santos and Spanish team Malaga and expected to bid for shares of those clubs.

Santos and PSG/QSI are linked through Neymar's father, while Malaga is already owned by a cousin of the Emir of Qatar, which should make for easier negotiations.

However, at this point, no substantial advancements have been made on any of those two fronts as reported by Le Parisien on Thursday, May 25th evening.

QSI's strategic vision, ambition, and commitment to expanding its influence in the sports industry are likely to have a profound impact on the trajectory of various clubs and leagues around the world, let alone affect how PSG evolves both on and off the field in future seasons.