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When the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers’ ownership group exercised its option to buy Leeds United in 2023, it took charge of a glorious but fast-sinking ship. The soccer club had been relegated from the English Premier League, a move that wiped away more than $400 million of the team’s valuation overnight. 

The club’s new leaders had a three-year window to return to the top division before their share of the Premier League’s nine-figure broadcast revenues, known as “parachute payments” for recently relegated teams, expired. 

It took them two. 

Now, Leeds United is back battling with the most prestigious clubs in England — and by extension, playing in the world’s most competitive soccer league. The team’s quest to remain at this level for good starts Monday at home, in Elland Road, against Everton and airs at 12 p.m. PT on USA Network. 

The man at the center of this turnaround is Paraag Marathe, the longtime chief negotiator for the 49ers, who now also leads 49ers Enterprises, a separate entity that leverages the NFL team’s brand and operations, along with its capital, to invest in sports assets around the world. In May, the group expanded its foray into soccer by buying a majority stake in Scottish giants Rangers FC. 

“As long and arduous and challenging the last two years have been, it makes this journey that much more rewarding,” Marathe said in a rare sit-down with reporters a day after hoisting the second division trophy with Leeds players in Plymouth. 

The last time Leeds was promoted to the Premier League, in 2021, Marathe could only watch as a minority owner as the previous ownership group, in his words, “weren’t really thinking about building a plan for multiple years” but rather were operating in a manner of “pay as you go, fly by the seat of your pants.” 

Leeds dazzled initially, finishing ninth in the top half of the table that first year, behind a swashbuckling brand of soccer under legendary coach Marcelo Bielsa. But that level of fearlessness and intensity left the squad physically and spiritually shattered two years later. 

This time, the chairman of Leeds wants the team to be more thoughtful about building a foundation that can be added to gradually as the club increases its revenues and climbs up the table. 

“The first year is about survival,” Marathe said. “Not compete. Survival. I get that. Anything more than that would be gravy.” 

In doing so, Marathe proclaimed that 49ers Enterprises would spend “every penny” it is allowed to, under Premier League financial sustainability rules, to improve the roster. On top of a 28,000-fan paid season ticket list, which is larger than many Premier League clubs, Enterprises last year brought on Red Bull as a minority owner and shirt sponsor, which reportedly unlocked hundreds of millions in funds earmarked for stadium upgrades and player transfers.

Marathe runs a lean team of five people at Enterprises who help him make the final call on high-level decisions at Leeds and the company’s other teams. Though he is not listed on the team’s website, former Icelandic international Gretar Rafn Steinsson oversees the overall sporting direction as technical director. NBA stars Russell Westbrook and Larry Nance Jr. are also passive investors of Leeds via the Niners’ investment arm. 

Last season, Leeds United was noticeably one of the more undersized teams, with three of its top four attackers last year at 5-foot-8 or shorter. To cope with the more physical demands of the Premier League this season, the club has responded by recruiting taller, stronger, and more experienced players. 

“You’ve got to nail your transfers,” Marathe said about the lessons the front office has learned from other successful clubs. “You’ve got to nail the players that come in that really fit the style of play that you want to have, that fit, you know, the club, and can play together cohesively.” 

In the second division last year, Leeds was far and away the most dominant team, as evidenced by its first-place finish, which saw the team score the most goals by a wide margin. But this season, it will more often than not play the part of a small fish in a big pond, and thus have to set up in a more pragmatic approach to stay in games against more talented teams. 

According to Capology, top English clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea are spending upwards to six times more than Leeds on players’ wages. 

To prepare for the step up in quality, Leeds played friendlies against stronger European sides, including Manchester United, Villarreal, and AC Milan, with whom they drew 1-1 to close out the preseason last weekend. “I liked our reaction not to lose our nerves and to stay on it and to invest everything to equalize,” head coach Daniel Farke said after the match. 

Still, Leeds has work to do in the transfer window, which closes in September. Winger Manor Solomon, who had 22 goal contributions (goals plus assists), returned to his parent club over the offseason and has not been replaced. New recruits Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha are technically forwards, but they tend to play in the same striker position as starter Joel Piroe, who won the Golden Boot last year in the second division. 

“We know that in the offense, we are not ready for Premier League level,” Farke said after the Villarreal game. “We still have time, but we also know that we need additions.” 

Recent history would suggest that the odds are stacked against Leeds’ survival. The last two seasons have seen every newly promoted team get immediately relegated after the first year. 

In order to avoid the drop, Leeds not only has to finish better than its fellow promoted sides Sunderland and Burnley, but must catch at least one of the incumbent Premier League teams above it. Of the likely candidates, Brentford has emerged as a trendy relegation pick among observers since it lost its coach and two best players. 

“I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be easy,” Marathe said. But rather than dwell on the gloom, he’s learning to savor the rewarding parts off the field. 

“The best thing is that we uplifted a whole community, you know, of this whole city, of this whole area. You could just feel it.”