Leeds F.C.
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Leeds United Football Club is a professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
, England. The team compete in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, the top tier of the
English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...
. Leeds United have won the League Championship three times, five
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
titles, the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
once, the League Cup once, the Charity Shield twice and the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...
twice. The club had their most successful period under the management of
Don Revie Donald George Revie (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an English footballer and manager. He is best known for managing Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, winning the Football League First Division twice and the FA Cup once, before being the Eng ...
in the 1960s and 1970s, when they won the League title twice, the FA Cup once, the League Cup once and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice. The club have also been runners-up five times in the League Championship, three times in the FA Cup, once each in the League Cup, the Charity Shield, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...
and the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
, and lost the play-off to keep the Inter-City Fairs Cup trophy. Leeds United share rivalries with
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and Chelsea. The team's traditional kit colours are white shirts, white shorts and white socks. Their badge features the
White Rose of York The White Rose of York (Latinised as ''rosa alba'', blazoned as ''a rose argent'') is a white heraldic rose which was adopted in the 14th century as a heraldic badge of the royal House of York. In the modern era, it is used more broadly as a ...
, which is a symbol of
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
.


History


Pre-Leeds United

Leeds United's predecessor,
Leeds City Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. The club was highly successful in the wartime football league; however, it faced sanction for paying its players during wartime which had b ...
, was formed in 1904 and elected to League membership in 1905.
Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English Association football, football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful manage ...
arrived in 1912. In 1919, Leeds City were forcibly disbanded by
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
, in response to allegations of illegal payments to players during the First World War. At Salem Chapel in 1919, Leeds United was formed, and they received an invitation to enter the
Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...
, being voted into it on 31 October 1919, taking the place vacated by Leeds City Reserves. Following Leeds City's disbanding, Yorkshire Amateurs bought the Elland Road stadium and then sold it to Leeds United for £250. The chairman of
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
,
Hilton Crowther John Hilton Crowther (1879–1957), known as J. Hilton Crowther, or more commonly simply as Hilton Crowther, was the chairman of Huddersfield Town and, subsequently, Leeds United football clubs. He was a wealthy woollen mill owner; along wit ...
, loaned Leeds United £ to be repaid when Leeds United won promotion to the
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
. He brought in former
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
manager Arthur Fairclough taking charge on 26 February 1920, replacing Dick Ray.


1920–1960: Beginnings

On 31 May 1920, Leeds United were elected to the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
. Over the following years, they consolidated their position in the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
and in the 1923–24 season won the title and with it promotion to the First Division. However, they failed to establish themselves and were relegated in 1926–27. After their relegation, Fairclough resigned, which paved the way for Dick Ray to return as manager. In the years up until the start of World War II, Leeds were twice relegated; on both occasions, they were re-promoted the following season. On 5 March 1935, Dick Ray resigned after 8 years being manager, and was replaced by
Billy Hampson Billy Hampson (1884 – 24 February 1966) was an English football player and manager. Hampson was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire and was the brother of footballers Tommy and Walker Hampson. He played for Rochdale, Bury and Norwich City bef ...
, who remained in charge for 12 years. In the 1946–47 season after the war, Leeds were relegated again, with the worst league record in their history. After this season, Hampson resigned (he stayed with Leeds as their chief scout for eight months) and was replaced in April 1947 by
Willis Edwards Willis Edwards (28 April 1903 – 27 September 1988) was an English professional football player and manager. Early Edwards was born in the mining village of Newton, North East Derbyshire, not far from Chesterfield and Alfreton. Like many boys ...
. In 1948, Sam Bolton replaced Ernest Pullan as the chairman of Leeds United. Edwards was moved to assistant manager in April 1948 after just one year as manager. He was replaced by Frank Buckley. Leeds remained in the Second Division until 1955–56, when they once again won promotion to the First Division, inspired by
John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh association football, footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United F.C., Leeds United and Juventus FC, Ju ...
. Charles was hungry for success at the highest level, and manager
Raich Carter Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter (21 December 1913 – 9 October 1994) was an English sportsman who played football for Sunderland, Derby County and Hull City, as well as representing England on thirteen occasions. He also played first-class c ...
was unable to convince him that Leeds could satisfy his ambitions. Charles was sold to
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
for a then world record of £65,000. The loss of Charles resulted in Leeds being relegated to the Second Division in the 1959–60 season. On 30 November 1957, Gerry Francis became Leeds' first black player.


1961–1974: Don Revie era

In March 1961, the club appointed former player
Don Revie Donald George Revie (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an English footballer and manager. He is best known for managing Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, winning the Football League First Division twice and the FA Cup once, before being the Eng ...
as manager, following the resignation of Jack Taylor. His stewardship began in adverse circumstances; the club was "in financial difficulty" and in 1961–62 only a win in the final game of the season saved the club from relegation to the Third Division. Revie implemented a youth policy and a change of kit colour to an all-white strip in the style of Real Madrid, and Leeds won promotion to the First Division in 1963–64. In the 1964–65 season, Leeds finished second to rivals Manchester United on goal average. They also reached the final of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
, losing 2–1 to
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
after extra-time. In the 1965–66 season, Leeds again finished second in the league, whilst also reaching the semi-finals of the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...
, losing on aggregate to Spanish side
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...
despite manager Revie ordering the fire brigade to flood the pitch before the replay at Elland Road. The 1966–67 season saw Leeds finish fourth in the league, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 1–0 to Chelsea and the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing 2–0 to
GNK Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional association football, football Football team, club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They ...
. With Leeds failing to land a trophy, they nearly doubled their record transfer in 1967–68, buying
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
centre-forward Mick Jones for £100,000. The season saw Leeds win their first major trophy, the League Cup, with Terry Cooper scoring the only goal of a 1–0 victory against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in the final. Leeds finished fourth in the First Division and were beaten in the FA Cup semi-finals by Everton. They also reached a second successive Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
and this time won the trophy, beating Hungarian club
Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...
over two legs; Leeds won the first leg 1–0, and a month later defended their lead with a 0–0 draw in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. Having found success in both domestic and European cup competitions, manager Revie chose to focus on the league for the 1968–69 season. Leeds secured the title in April 1969 with a 0–0 draw with challengers Liverpool at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
, whose supporters congratulated Leeds. Leeds set a number of records including most points (67), most wins (27), fewest defeats (2), and most home points (39); a still-unbroken club record is their 34 match unbeaten run that extended into the following season. Leeds reinforced their front line breaking the British transfer record by signing Allan Clarke from
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
for £165,000. They targeted
the treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...
in 1969–70 and came close to achieving this, only to fail on all three fronts in a congested close season, finishing second in the league to Everton, losing the 1970 FA Cup final to Chelsea (after a replay), and exiting the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
with a semi-final defeat to
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
. Having rejected an offer to manage Birmingham City, Revie chose to remain at Leeds for the 1970–71 season. Leeds and Arsenal both challenged for the title that season, though it would be the Gunners who would claim the league title, finishing one point ahead of Leeds after the latter lost to
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
following a controversial "offside" goal. United were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Fourth Division side
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
. Leeds again found success in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup though, beating Juventus in the final on away goals. Leeds again finished as runners-up in the 1971–72 season, but United did reach the
1972 FA Cup final The 1972 FA Cup final took place on 6 May 1972 at Wembley Stadium. It was the centenary final (although only the 91st final due to the world wars) and the 44th to be played at Wembley. It was contested between cup holders Arsenal, who had won ...
, lifting the trophy after a 1–0 victory over Arsenal in the final. In the
1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...
season, the Whites again came close to a Treble, but they finished third in the league, losing the 1973 FA Cup final to Second Division Sunderland 1–0 against all expectations, and reached the final of the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
against Italian club
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
at the
Kaftanzoglio Stadium Kaftanzoglio National Stadium () is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It currently has 27,560 seats, owing to conversion of terraces to seats in 2000 and a comprehensive renovation before reopening to host football matches for the 2004 ...
, where they were beaten 1–0 following some controversial refereeing by Christos Michas who was later banned by UEFA for 'fixing' other matches. Revie was offered the managers role at Everton in the summer, but chose to remain at Leeds. The following season, they won the 1973–74 First Division with a five-point lead over second-placed Liverpool. Revie chose to take the job of England national team manager at the end of the 1973–74 season. In his 13 years in charge, Revie guided Leeds to two Football League First Division titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Football League Second Division title and one Charity Shield. He also guided them to three more FA Cup Finals, two more FA Cup Semi-finals, one more Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-final, one European Cup Winners' Cup Final and one European Cup Semi-final. The team also finished second in the Football League First Division five times, third once and fourth twice. In a survey of leading football writers, historians and academics by ''Total Sport'' magazine, Revie's Leeds United were voted as one of the 50 greatest football teams of all time.


1974–1988: Post-Revie and relegation

Following the 1973–74 season, Revie left Leeds and Elland Road to manage the
England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...
.
Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
was appointed as Revie's successor. This was a surprise appointment, as Clough had been an outspoken critic of Revie and the team's tactics. Clough's tenure as manager started badly, with defeat in the Charity Shield against Liverpool in which
Billy Bremner William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional Association football, footballer who played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Hull City A.F.C., Hull City, and the Scotland national football team, Scot ...
and
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...
were sent off for fighting. Under Clough, the team performed poorly, and after only 44 days he was dismissed. Clough was replaced by former England captain
Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool F.C., Blackpool, usually at right b ...
. Armfield took Revie's ageing team to the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
of the
1974–75 European Cup The 1974–75 season was the 20th season of the European Cup, an annual football tournament for the champion clubs of the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations). It was won for the second consecutive time by Bayer ...
, in which they were defeated by
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
under controversial circumstances."Welcome To Elland Road", Les Rowley & James Brown (1999), IFG Publishing, Assisted by coach
Don Howe Donald Howe (12 October 1935 – 23 December 2015) was an English football player, coach, manager and pundit. As a right back Howe featured for clubs West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal together with the England national football team in his pla ...
, Armfield rebuilt Revie's team, and though it no longer dominated English football, it remained in the top ten for subsequent seasons. However, the board became impatient for success and dismissed Armfield in 1978, replacing him with
Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...
, who also lasted just 44 days before leaving to manage
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. The board appointed Jimmy Adamson, but he was unable to stop the decline, and in 1980 Adamson resigned and was replaced by former player Allan Clarke. Despite spending freely on players, he was unable to stem the tide, and the club was relegated at the end of 1981–82. Clarke was replaced by former teammate Eddie Gray. With no money to spend on team building, Gray concentrated on youth development, but was unable to guide them to promotion from the Second Division. The board again became impatient and dismissed Gray in 1985, replacing him with another Revie teammate, Billy Bremner. Bremner found it just as difficult to achieve promotion, although Leeds reached the 1987
play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...
final, but were defeated by
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...
. Leeds also endured a near miss in the FA Cup, losing out to
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
in the semi-finals.


1988–2002: Wilkinson, Graham and O'Leary

In October 1988, with the team 21st in the Second Division, Bremner was fired to make way for
Howard Wilkinson Howard Wilkinson (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Despite having a low-profile playing career, Wilkinson embarked on a successful managerial career. He won the First Division championship in 1992 with Leeds ...
. Leeds avoided relegation that season, and in March 1989 signed
Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Sc ...
from Manchester United for £300,000. The Scottish midfielder was named captain, and helped Leeds win the Second Division in 1989–90 and gain promotion back to the First Division. Leeds finished fourth in 1990–91, and in the 1991–92 season they became champions of England for the third time. During the close season Leeds were founder members of the new
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, which became the top division of English football. However, the 1992–93 season saw Leeds exiting the Champions League in the early stages, and eventually finishing 17th in the league (having won no away matches in the league), narrowly avoiding relegation. Wilkinson's Leeds were unable to provide any consistent challenge for honours, and his position was not helped by a poor display in the 1996 League Cup final which Leeds lost to
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
. Leeds could only finish 13th in 1995–96, and after a 4–0 home defeat by Manchester United early in 1996–97, Wilkinson had his contract terminated. One of the legacies of Wilkinson and youth coach
Paul Hart Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the Football League as a defender. Hart was most recently assistant manager to Nathan Jones at Charlton ...
was the development of Leeds United's youth academy, which has produced numerous talented footballers over the years. Leeds appointed
George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Stroller", he made 455 appearances in England's Football League as a midfielder or forward for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester Unite ...
as Wilkinson's successor. This appointment was controversial as Graham had previously received a one-year ban from
The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
for receiving illegal payments from a football agent. Graham made some astute purchases and also helped blood youngsters from Leeds' youth cup winning side. By the end of the 1997–98 season, Leeds had qualified for the following season's
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
. In October 1998, Graham left to become manager of
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
, and Leeds opted to replace him with assistant manager
David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. The majority of his 20-year playing career was spent as a central defender at Arsenal, where his tally of 722 appearances stands as a club record. He played 68 time ...
. Under O'Leary and assistant Eddie Gray, Leeds never finished outside the top five in the Premier League, and secured qualification for both the UEFA Cup and the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, enjoying cup runs to the semi-finals of both competitions. However, during the same period, the team's image was tarnished when players
Jonathan Woodgate Jonathan Simon Woodgate (born 22 January 1980) is an English Association football, football manager and former player. Woodgate began his career at Middlesbrough but moved to Leeds United F.C., Leeds United at the age of sixteen. He was sold t ...
and
Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer (; born 3 January 1977) is an English football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who featured for Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, West Ham United (two spells), Newcastle United, Birmingha ...
were involved in an incident that left an Asian student in hospital with severe injuries. The resulting court case took nearly two years to resolve; Bowyer was cleared, but Woodgate convicted of
affray In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in ) of ordinary people. Depending on their actions, and the laws ...
and sentenced to community service. Additionally, in the UEFA Cup semi-final against
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, two Leeds fans were stabbed to death before the game.


2002–2010: Financial crisis and decline

Under chairman
Peter Ridsdale Peter Ridsdale (born 11 March 1952) is an English businessman who is a director at Preston North End. He was until December 2011 the Chairman of Football Operations at Plymouth Argyle. Ridsdale was previously the chairman of Leeds United, Barns ...
, Leeds had taken out large loans against the prospect of the share of the TV rights and sponsorship revenues from Champions League qualification and subsequent progress in the competition. However, Leeds narrowly failed to qualify for the Champions League in two successive seasons, and as a consequence did not receive enough income to repay the loans. The first indication that the club was in financial trouble was the sale of
Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and ...
to Manchester United for approximately £30 million. Ridsdale and O'Leary publicly fell out over the sale, and O'Leary was dismissed on 27 June 2002, and replaced by former England manager
Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), often referred to as El Tel, was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for E ...
. Leeds performed woefully under Venables, and other players were sold to repay the loans, including Jonathan Woodgate, whom Ridsdale had promised Venables would not be sold. Tensions mounted between Ridsdale and Venables and, with the team underachieving, Venables was dismissed on 21 March 2003, and replaced by
Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...
. Ridsdale resigned from the Leeds board and was replaced by existing non-executive director Professor John McKenzie. At this time Leeds were in danger of relegation, but managed to avoid the drop in the penultimate game of the season, beating Arsenal 3–2 away with a late strike by
Mark Viduka Mark Antony Viduka ( ; born 9 October 1975) is an Australian former Association football, football player who played as a centre forward. Viduka captained the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup ...
. Reid was given a permanent contract at Leeds the following summer and brought in several players on loan. An unsuccessful start to the 2003–04 season saw Reid dismissed, and Eddie Gray take over as
caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...
until the end of the season. An
insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
specialist, Gerald Krasner, led a consortium of local businessmen which took over Leeds and oversaw the sale of the club's assets, including senior and emerging youth players of any value. Leeds were relegated during the 2003–04 season. Following relegation to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
, assistant manager
Kevin Blackwell Kevin Patrick Blackwell (born 21 December 1958) is an English professional football manager, executive and former player who is currently the technical director of Ekstraklasa club Lechia Gdańsk. Playing career Blackwell was born in Luton an ...
was appointed manager. Most of the remaining players were sold or released on free transfers to further reduce the high wage bill; Blackwell was forced to rebuild almost the entire squad through free transfers, and Leeds were forced to sell both their training ground and stadium in the autumn of 2004. In 2005, the club was bought by
Ken Bates Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is a former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United. Bates ...
, who paid £10 million for a 50% stake. Under Blackwell, Leeds reached the Championship play-off final, which they lost to
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
. With the team performing poorly, Blackwell's contract was terminated, and Leeds hired John Carver as caretaker manager, but his spell was not a success and he was relieved of his duties, with
Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He spent the majority of his career at Chelsea, from 1990 to 2001. Beginning his career at Wimbledon, ...
eventually installed as his replacement on 24 October 2006. Wise was unable to lift the team out of the relegation zone for much of the season, despite bringing in a number of experienced loan players and free transfers on short-term deals. With relegation virtually assured, Leeds entered
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
on 4 May 2007, thus incurring a league-imposed 10-point deduction that officially relegated the club to the third tier of English football; the club had previously never played any lower than the second tier. The players whom Wise had brought in were released; he was forced to build a squad almost from scratch, and because of administration Leeds were unable to sign any players until a few days before the opening game of the season. On 3 July 2007,
HM Revenue and Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of stat ...
(HMRC) lodged a legal challenge to Leeds' Creditors' Voluntary Agreement (CVA). Under league rules, if the club were still in administration at the start of the following season, Leeds would have been prevented from starting their season by the Football League. Following the challenge by HMRC, the club was put up for sale by
KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...
, and again Ken Bates' bid was accepted. The League eventually sanctioned this under the "exceptional circumstances rule" but imposed a 15-point deduction due to the club failing to exit administration with a CVA, as the Football League rules required. On 31 August 2007, HMRC decided not to pursue its legal challenge any further. Despite the 15-point deduction, Wise and his assistant
Gus Poyet Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer who is the manager of K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his career with s ...
guided Leeds to a play-off position, only for Poyet to leave for Tottenham, and Wise quitting to take up a position at
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
. Wise was replaced by former club captain
Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell bef ...
. Leeds went on to secure a place in the play-off final, but were beaten by
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
. The following season saw a poor run of results, and McAllister was dismissed after a run of five defeats in a row on 22 December 2008. He was replaced by
Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is head coach of National League (division), National League club Hartlepool ...
, who resigned from his post as manager of
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
to take the position. Under Grayson, Leeds made the play-offs once again, but were beaten over the two legs of the semi-finals by
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
. In the 2009–10 season, the team secured the best start ever to a season by a Leeds side, and caused a major upset in the third round of the FA Cup by beating Manchester United at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
. After the impressive run in the FA Cup, Leeds' league form suffered, with the team taking just seven points from a possible 24. However, the team rallied and Leeds won their final game of the season to confirm promotion to the Championship as runners-up to
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
.


2010–2020: Return to the Championship

Leeds spent much of the 2010–11 season in the play-off places, but eventually finished in seventh place, just missing out on the play-offs. In May 2011, it was announced that Leeds chairman Ken Bates had bought the club and become the owner of Leeds. Before the match against Middlesbrough, about 300 Leeds fans protested about what they saw as a lack of investment in the playing side, to which Bates responded by calling the protesters "morons". Despite securing promotion to the Championship, Grayson was dismissed after failing to mount a consistent challenge for promotion to the Premier League.
Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed ...
was appointed as the club's new manager on 18 February, with his initial contract lasting until the end of the 2012–13 season. On 21 November 2012, Middle East-based private equity group GFH Capital finalised a deal for a protracted takeover of Leeds, gaining a 100% shareholding in the club. It was also announced Ken Bates would remain as chairman until the end of the 2012–13 season and then become club president. The takeover was officially completed on 21 December 2012. Despite runs to the quarter-finals of the League Cup and the fifth round of the FA Cup (albeit with both runs ending in five-goal thrashings, by Chelsea and Manchester City respectively), Leeds' league form in the 2012–13 season was generally mediocre, with the club never making any real challenge for the play-off places. Warnock resigned on 1 April 2013, with six games remaining, and Leeds just five points above the relegation zone. Brian McDermott replaced Warnock, and the club won three of their final five games of the season, enough to avoid relegation. That summer, Bates stepped down as chairman, and ultimately left the club altogether a few weeks later following a dispute over expenses. On 7 January 2014, Leeds United's managing director
David Haigh David Lawrence Haigh is a British human rights lawyer and international crisis and media manager. Haigh is the former managing director of Leeds United Football Club and Chairman of Leeds United Ladies Football Club and was the first openly ...
was involved in Sport Capital, a consortium involving the managing director of Leeds United's main sponsors, Enterprise Insurance, Andrew Flowers. Sports Capital came close to completing a transaction with GFH Capital that would have given them a 75% stake in the business. On 30 January, Sport Capital's takeover collapsed due to a lack of "financial backing". Haigh released a statement conceding that it was unable to complete a deal despite two months ago agreeing to purchase a 75% stake in the club from the owners Gulf Finance House. Haigh said he and Sport Capital had "injected substantial sums into the club to ensure its viability" but earlier in the week fellow consortium member Andrew Flowers, the managing director of Leeds' shirt sponsor Enterprise Insurance, stated that GFH had "breached their covenant with us" after inviting a rival bid from
Massimo Cellino Massimo Cellino (; born 28 July 1956) is an Italian entrepreneur and football club owner. Through his family trust Eleonora Sport Ltd, he was the owner of Italian club Brescia Calcio, and is the former owner of Italian club Cagliari, and English ...
, the president of the
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club
Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that plays in Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. The club currently plays home matches at the 16,416-sea ...
. Haigh's statement read: On 31 January 2014, under controversial circumstances, it was reported that manager Brian McDermott had been removed from his position as the club's manager following a string of poor results, while the controversy surrounding the club was resolved. New club captain
Ross McCormack Ross McCormack (born 18 August 1986) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for English side Doncaster City, who play in the Central Midlands Alliance League North Division. McCormack started his career with Scottish ...
expressed his support for the former manager. By 3 February the BBC was reporting that McDermott had been called by a lawyer representing Massimo Cellino "and told he had been relieved of his duties". However, Cellino still did not own the club, as the Football League had not yet approved his purchase, so neither he nor his lawyer could dismiss the manager. McDermott, therefore, remained in his post. After weeks of speculation regarding the purchase of Leeds United, on 7 February 2014, Leeds United had announced that they had exchanged contracts for the sale of Leeds to Cellino's family consortium Eleonora Sport Ltd. The deal saw the Cellino family acquire a 75% ownership of the club, subject to Football League Approval. At its meeting on 23 March 2014, the board of the Football League decided unanimously that Cellino's conviction by an Italian court meant that he did not meet its owners and directors test, so could not take over Leeds United. In the backdrop of Cellino's takeover, Leeds suffered an appalling second half of the season, dropping from the play-off places to the fringes of the relegation battle. In the end, the weak performances of the teams below Leeds meant that they were never in any real danger of going down, and a late run of wins put survival beyond doubt well before the end of the season. However, McDermott resigned as manager on 30 May 2014. On 5 April, Cellino was successful in his appeal with independent QC Tim Kerr to take over the club. The takeover was completed on 10 April, with Cellino's company, Eleonora Sport Limited, buying 75% of the club's shares. Two months later, the inexperienced
Dave Hockaday David Hockaday (born 9 November 1957) is an English professional footballer who is currently Head of Male Football at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has previously worked as a manager at Leeds United, Forest Green Rovers, Kiddermi ...
was surprisingly appointed head coach, with Junior Lewis hired as his assistant. After only 70 days, the pair were fired by Cellino.
Darko Milanič Darko Milanič (born 18 December 1967) is a Slovenian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. As a player, Milanič represented both Yugoslavia national football team, Yugoslavia and Slov ...
was given the head coach position on 21 September 2014, becoming the club's first manager from outside the British isles and the first Slovene manager in English football, but left the club the following month. On 1 November 2014,
Neil Redfearn Neil David Redfearn (born 20 June 1965) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Farsley Celtic. Redfearn, a midfielder, played 790 matches in the Football League, the sixth highest total of all time, ...
was confirmed as the new head coach. On 1 December 2014, Cellino was disqualified by the Football League after it obtained documents from an Italian court, where he was found guilty of tax evasion. He was disqualified from running the club until 10 April 2015, and on 24 February 2015, Cellino announced he would not be returning to the club after his ban ended. Redfearn was replaced by former Manchester City Player
Uwe Rösler Uwe Rösler (; born 15 November 1968) is a German football manager and former professional footballer. He most recently managed Danish Superliga club AGF from 2022 to 2025. As a player he was a centre forward, notably playing in the Premier Lea ...
as head coach in May 2015, but Rosler was himself replaced by Steve Evans after only a few months in the role. On 30 October 2015, Cellino agreed a deal in principle with
Leeds Fans Utd Leeds Fans Utd is a private limited company which intends to secure a stake in Leeds United F.C. The funding for the project comes from ordinary Leeds fans, who collectively acquire shares in the company through the Leeds Fans Utd Community ...
to sell a majority stake in the club. When asked to legally commit to an exclusivity period to allow
due diligence Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. Due diligence ...
to commence, he reneged. On 2 June 2016,
Garry Monk Garry Alan Monk (born 6 March 1979) is an English football manager and former professional player who was most recently the head coach of club Cambridge United. Monk, a centre back, began his playing career with Torquay United before joining ...
was appointed as the new head coach, replacing Steve Evans. On 4 January 2017, Italian businessman
Andrea Radrizzani Andrea Radrizzani (born 10 September 1974) is an Italian businessman. He was the chairman and founder of the sports broadcasting group Eleven Sports, and a past owner and chairman of English football club Leeds United and Italian club UC Sampdo ...
purchased a 50% stake in the club from Massimo Cellino. At the close of the 2016–17 season, Leeds narrowly missed out on the play-offs. Leeds had been in the play-off positions for the majority of the season before a poor run of form in the final games saw them drop into seventh place. This was compounded by being knocked out in the fourth round of the FA Cup by non-League side
Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...
1–0, who, at the time, were 83 places and three divisions below Leeds. On 23 May 2017, Radrizzani announced a 100% buyout of Leeds United, buying the remaining 50% shares from previous co-owner Massimo Cellino, with Radrizzani taking full ownership of the club. Garry Monk resigned as head coach two days after the takeover, after one season at the club in which he guided them to seventh place. In June 2017, former
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
international
Thomas Christiansen Thomas Christiansen Tarín (born 11 March 1973) is a football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of the Panama national team. Left-footed, he played for a number of clubs in Danish, Spanish and Ger ...
was announced as the new head coach. This was followed by Radrizzani introducing Leeds United Women back to Leeds United ownership. Also in June, Radrizzani completed the purchase of Elland Road from Jacob Adler's company, Teak Commercial Limited for £20 million, using his own company Greenfield Investment Pte Ltd. On 4 February 2018, Christiansen was dismissed, after a bad run of games, leaving the team tenth in the Championship. On 6 February,
Paul Heckingbottom Paul Heckingbottom (born 17 July 1977) is an English football coach and former player who is the manager of EFL Championship club Preston North End. After retiring as a player, Heckingbottom trained as a coach. He obtained a position with Barn ...
was confirmed as Christiansen's replacement. On 24 May 2018, Leeds announced that
49ers Enterprises Marie Denise DeBartolo York (born 1950) is an American billionaire businesswoman, who is the co-chairwoman of the San Francisco 49ers American football team, as well as Leeds United and also owner of Rangers F.C through 49ers Enterprises. She is ...
, the business arm of the
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
side
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
, had bought shares in the club to become a minority investor. Heckingbottom was dismissed by Leeds in June 2018 after being at the club for just four months. Argentine manager
Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional Association football, football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national football team ...
was named the club's new manager on 15 June 2018, signing a two-year contract with an option of a third year. In doing so he became the highest-paid manager in the club's history. Bielsa's first season in charge saw Leeds make an impressive start and Leeds remained in the top two with Norwich City for the majority of the season, on course for automatic promotion to the Premier League. However, a poor end to the season saw the team lose out on automatic promotion to Sheffield United. They entered the play-offs against
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
; despite winning the first leg 1–0, they ultimately lost 4–3 on aggregate which consigned them to another season in the championship.


2020–present: Promotion and relegation

On 17 July 2020, after sixteen years out of the Premier League, Leeds were promoted back to the top flight following West Bromwich Albion's loss to Huddersfield Town.
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
's defeat of
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
the following day confirmed they would go up as winners of the Championship. Leeds had been in the top two for most of the season and had never dropped lower than fifth in the table, eventually going on to finish ten points clear of West Brom in second place. The club's first season back in the Premier League produced a top half finish, their points tally was the most by a newly promoted side since
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
two decades earlier. However, the following season was not as successful and following a series of poor results, Bielsa was dismissed by the club in February 2022.
Jesse Marsch Jesse Alan Marsch ( ; born November 8, 1973) is an American professional association football, soccer coach and former player who is the head coach of the Canada men's national soccer team, Canada men's national team. Marsch played 14 seasons ...
was appointed as Bielsa's replacement, and he successfully led the club to avoid relegation on the final day of the season. Marsch was dismissed by the club in February 2023, and was replaced by
Javi Gracia Javier "Javi" Gracia Carlos (; born 1 May 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He totalled 430 matches across both major levels of Spanish football, in a 15-year professional career. Afte ...
. Gracia was dismissed on 3 May 2023, having won just three of his twelve games in charge, and was replaced by
Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (born 19 October 1954) is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football League, as well as brief spells in the North ...
, in the hope, he could avoid relegation for the second successive season. However, he was unable to prevent relegation as Leeds dropped back into the Championship on the final day of the season. With Allardyce having left the club after relegation,
Daniel Farke Daniel Farke (; born 30 October 1976) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Leeds United. Farke spent most of his playing career with SV Lippstadt, where he also began his management career. A ...
was appointed as manager on 4 July 2023. Farke had previously won the Championship twice with
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
. On 18 July, 49ers Enterprises, then owning 44% of the shares in the club, reached agreement with Radrizzani to purchase the remaining 56% in a complete takeover. Leeds missed out on promotion in their first season back in the Championship after losing the play-off final to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. While recording a pre-tax loss of £60.8million, the club recorded £43.2m in commercial income for the 2023–24 campaign, the highest recorded in the Championship and surpassing the club’s own 2019–20 record of £33.8m. After a slow start to the 2024–25 season, Leeds moved into 2nd place in the table on 18 October when they beat Sheffield United 2–0 at Elland Road. They were not to leave the top 3 again that season; as early pace-setters Sunderland faltered, the race for promotion developed into a three-way battle with Sheffield United and
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
. After a loss to
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
at the end of November, Leeds went on a three month unbeaten run which included wins over rivals Sheffield United and Sunderland, and a 7–0 win over
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
at Elland Road. However, one victory in five games during March saw Leeds briefly drop to 3rd in the table, before a run of three wins, coupled with three unexpected defeats for Sheffield United, left them on the brink of promotion. On 21 April, Leeds beat Stoke City 6–0 at Elland Road, before Burnley beat Sheffield United 2–1 in a later kick off, meaning that both were promoted automatically. A late 2–1 win at
Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...
on the last day of the season confirmed Leeds as winners of the Championship title.


Colours

In Leeds' first 15 years, the club kit was modelled on Huddersfield Town's blue and white striped shirts, white shorts and dark blue socks with blue and white rings on the turnovers, because Huddersfield's chairman Hilton Crowther was attempting to merge the two clubs. He eventually left Huddersfield to take over at Leeds. In 1934, Leeds switched to blue and yellow halved shirts incorporating the city crest, white shorts and blue socks with yellow tops. The kit was worn for the first time on 22 September 1934. In 1950, Leeds switched to yellow shirts with blue sleeves and collars, white shorts and black, blue and gold hooped socks. In 1955, Leeds changed again to royal blue shirts with gold collars, white shorts, and blue and yellow hooped socks, thus echoing the original Leeds City strip. In 1961, Don Revie introduced a plain white strip throughout.


Badge

Leeds United's first badge appeared in 1934. Like Leeds City before them, the club adopted the
coat of arms of Leeds The Coat of arms of Leeds City Council derives its design from the seventeenth century. In 1662 the Borough of Leeds received a new charter which created the office of mayor, and the arms (the shield alone) seems to date from about this time as ...
, which remained on the kit in various guises until 1961. For a number of seasons after 1961–62, when the all-white strip replaced the blue and gold, the shirts sported no badge at all. A perching owl badge was added to the strip in 1964. The design was a surprise given Revie's superstition about the symbolism of birds. The owl derived from the three owls that feature on the city's coat of arms, which in turn were taken from the coat of arms of Sir John Savile, the first
alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
of Leeds. The owl was usually navy blue, but was coloured gold for the 1968 Football League Cup Final. Between 1971 and 1973, Leeds used the "LUFC" script that runs down the centre of the current badge, albeit in a diagonal fashion rather than the present vertical. The script made a reappearance on the 'retro-look' Asics kit used during the 1995–96 season. In 1973 came the embodiment of 1970s imagery with the iconic "smiley" badge, made up of the letters L and U in bubble writing. Revie's predilection for gimmicks was years ahead of its time, and done with the explicit intention of gaining acceptance from a public outside West Yorkshire. In 1977, the smiley badge was rotated through 45° and the yellow and blue colours were reversed. The yellow smiley returned the following year, but was now enclosed in a circle surrounded by the words "LEEDS UNITED AFC". In the 1978–79 season, a new badge appeared that was similar to that of the previous season, except now the words "LEEDS UNITED AFC" enclosed a stylised peacock (a reference to the club's nickname, "The Peacocks") rather than the yellow smiley. In 1984, another badge was introduced which lasted until 1998. The distinctive rose and ball badge used the traditional blue, gold and white colours, and incorporated the
White Rose of York The White Rose of York (Latinised as ''rosa alba'', blazoned as ''a rose argent'') is a white heraldic rose which was adopted in the 14th century as a heraldic badge of the royal House of York. In the modern era, it is used more broadly as a ...
, the club's name, and a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
(a
truncated icosahedron In geometry, the truncated icosahedron is a polyhedron that can be constructed by Truncation (geometry), truncating all of the regular icosahedron's vertices. Intuitively, it may be regarded as Ball (association football), footballs (or soccer ...
similar to the
Adidas Telstar Telstar is a football made by Adidas. The iconic 32-panel alternating black-and-white design of the ball, based on the work of Eigil Nielsen, has since become a global standard design used to portray a football in different media. History The ba ...
, but in Leeds colours) in the core section. In the 1998–99 season, the club logo was replaced with a more "European" shield design. The shield retained the white rose, as well as the blue, gold and white colours, with "LUFC" reading vertically down the centre. In 1999, the badge was slightly amended in that the football from the 1984 badge was added to the centre of the white rose. In January 2018, Leeds United revealed a new blue and gold shield design featuring the 'Leeds Salute' via their official website and Twitter account to be used from the following season. The design received enormous backlash from supporters. The club agreed to scrap the design a week later, and reverted to the previous shield design. In February 2019, Leeds United revealed a predominantly gold coloured badge that would be worn on the players' kit during the club's centenary season. The badge retained the existing shield design, but replaced the "LUFC" script with the words "LEEDS UNITED" above and "100 YEARS" below the shield. The crest also carried the date "1919", the year that the club was founded, as well as the centenary year "2019".


Stadium

Leeds United have only ever used one stadium as their home ground, Elland Road, where they have played at since their foundation in 1919. An
all-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Amer ...
stadium situated in
Beeston, Leeds Beeston is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located on a hill about 2 miles (3 km) south of the city centre. The origins of Beeston can be traced back to the medieval period. It remained a small settlement until the latter part o ...
, West Yorkshire, England, it is the 14th largest football stadium in England. Elland Road was previously occupied by their predecessors, Leeds City before their disbanding. After their formation, the council allowed them to rent the stadium until they could afford to buy it. With the exception of periods from the 1960s until 1983, and from 1997 to 2004, the local council owned the stadium. However, it was sold by the club in October 2004, with a 25-year sale-
leaseback Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done fo ...
deal being agreed, and a commercial buy-back clause also included for when the club's finances improve sufficiently. Initially, the ground was the home of the Holbeck Rugby Club, which played in the Northern Rugby Union, the forerunner of the Rugby Football League. One of Leeds' first nicknames'', 'The Peacocks, comes from the original name of Elland Road – 'The Old Peacock ground'. It was named by the original owners of the ground, Bentley's Brewery, after its pub The Old Peacock, which still faces the site. The newly formed Leeds City agreed to rent and later own Elland Road. After their disbandment, it was sold to Leeds United. The most recent stand at Elland Road is the East, or Family, Stand, a
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
structure completed during the 1992–93 season that can hold 17,000 seated spectators. It is a two-tiered stand that continues around the corners and is the largest part of the stadium. ''The Don Revie Stand'' was opened at the start of the 1994–95 season, and can hold just under 7,000 seated spectators. The roof of the West Stand holds a television commentary gantry and walkway for TV personnel. Elland Road was named in December 2009 as one of the contenders for the England 2018 World Cup bid. As a result of the bid, Leeds drew up plans to redevelop parts of Elland Road and increase the stadium's capacity. Ken Bates also revealed plans to take out the executive boxes out of the South Stand to increase the starting capacity by a further 2,000–3,000. More executive boxes would be built in the east stand.


Supporters

In 2003, Peter Reid commented on the support at Elland Road after being relieved of his managerial duties, saying that "In 30 years I've never seen support like I did at the Leeds/Arsenal game a couple of weeks ago. The fans at Leeds are fantastic." Two other former Leeds managers have also spoken highly of the club's supporters; Kevin Blackwell said "fans will follow them everywhere" and David O'Leary commented "There is an immense fan base and they are still with the club". Leeds United supporters are renowned for singing the signature song "
Marching on Together "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!" (commonly known as "Marching On Together") is the name of the anthem of Leeds United written by Les Reed and Barry Mason. The vocals on the original 1972 recording were sung by members of the Leeds United team and thei ...
" before and during matches. Other notable songs Leeds fans sing during games include "We Are The Champions, Champions of Europe" (more commonly known as WACCOE) in reference to the 1975 European Cup Final which Leeds lost due to dubious refereeing decisions. Riots by the Leeds fans during the match led to
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
banning the club from European competition for four years, although this was reduced to two years on appeal. Supporters also have their own salute. An
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
fans' group, ''Marching Out Together,'' was formed in 2017 and sits on the club's Supporters' Advisory Group. There is also a group for Sikh supporters, called Punjabi Whites. The Leeds United Disabled Organisation (LUDO) was founded in 1992. There is a well-known hooligan firm amongst the fans known as the
Leeds United Service Crew The Leeds United Service Crew are a football hooligan firm linked to the English Premier League team, Leeds United F.C. The Service Crew were formed in 1974 and are named after the ordinary public service trains that the hooligans would travel ...
.


Rivalries

Leeds United's main rivals are widely considered to be Manchester United. As the largest cities within the historic counties of
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
and
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, animosity between the regions date back to the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
, although more recent tensions between the football clubs date back to the 1960s and the iconic managers of Don Revie and
Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...
. The rivalry has been described as one of the fiercest in world football, and the most intense and inexplicable in England. Alex Ferguson described Elland Road as 'hostile' and 'frightening', and stated that the ferocity of games between the two surpassed the ones with Liverpool. The clubs have competed for league titles and cups in the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, and early 2000s; while players such as
Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as ...
, Gordon Strachan, and
Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French former professional footballer who is currently an actor. In his football career Eric Cantona was a physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player. He combined technical skill a ...
have been highly successful after moving between the clubs. Leeds United's secondary rivals are generally regarded to be Chelsea, which largely stems from the 1970 FA Cup Final. The clubs competed at the top end of the Premier League in the late 1990s and early 2000s and games were often bad-tempered. While the rivalry has subsided with Leeds' relegation, controversial figures such as Ken Bates and Dennis Wise – both of whom had long associations with Chelsea – presided over the club's relegation to the third division in 2007 and subsequent administration, prolonging the enmity. Leeds United also hold extreme bitterness towards Turkish club
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
following the deaths of two supporters the night before a UEFA Cup semi-final in Istanbul in April 2000. During the game, supporters of Galatasaray mocked the deaths, while their team refused to wear black armbands. Then chairman Peter Ridsdale accused the club of 'lacking common decency'.


Music

The single "Leeds United" was released in April 1972 to coincide with the team reaching the 1972 FA Cup final, composed by Les Reed and
Barry Mason John Barry Mason (12 July 1935 – 16 April 2021) was an English singer and songwriter. A leading songwriter of the 1960s, he wrote the bulk of his most successful songs in partnership with Les Reed. Mason gained many gold and platinum awar ...
with the team providing the vocals. The record stayed in the UK Singles Chart for almost three months, peaking at number 10. The B-side "
Leeds! Leeds! Leeds! "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!" (commonly known as "Marching On Together") is the name of the anthem of Leeds United written by Les Reed and Barry Mason. The vocals on the original 1972 recording were sung by members of the Leeds United team and thei ...
" (commonly known as ''Marching on Together'') has since become the club's anthem and is regularly sung by supporters.


Records

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager who played as a Defender (association football), centre-back for Leeds. He was part of the England ...
holds the record for the most appearances for the club, having made 773 first team appearances between 1952–1973.
Peter Lorimer Peter Patrick Lorimer (14 December 1946 – 20 March 2021) was a Scottish professional footballer who mainly played for Leeds United and Scotland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An attacking midfielder and the club's youngest-ever player ...
is the club's record goal scorer, scoring 238 goals across two spells.
John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh association football, footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United F.C., Leeds United and Juventus FC, Ju ...
scored the most goals for the club in a single season, 43 in 1953–54.
Lucas Radebe Lucas Valeriu Ntuba Radebe OIS (born 12 April 1969) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He began playing in the than known Bophuthatswana Soccer league (BOPSOL) playing for Stocks Birds in Lehurutshe ...
is the most capped international for the club, making 69 appearances for
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. Leeds United's record home attendance is 57,892 against Sunderland on 15 March 1967. The club's highest league attendance is 56,796 against Arsenal on 27 December 1932. This was before their stadium became an all-seater venue, their highest modern attendance is 40,287 against Newcastle United on 22 December 2001. Leeds United's highest ever league finish is first in the First Division in the 1968–69, 1973–74 and 1991–92 seasons. Their lowest ever league finish was fifth in League One in 2007–08, finishing the season by losing to Doncaster Rovers in the play-off final. This was their first ever season in the third tier of English football. Leeds United's longest ever unbeaten run in the league was between 19 October 1968 and 30 August 1969, to which they remained unbeaten for thirty-four games on their way to the First Division title. Their longest run of consecutive victories in the league is nine, which they achieved between 26 September 1931 and 21 November 1931 (in the Second Division) and also between 1 January and 23 February 2024 (in the Championship). The record transfer fee paid by Leeds for a player was around £30 million for
Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentioned ...
forward Georginio Rutter. The highest transfer fee received for a Leeds player was approximately £60 million from
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
for
Raphinha Raphael Dias Belloli (born 14 December 1996), known as Raphinha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Brazil national team. Known for his work rate, pace, finishing and c ...
; it surpassed their previous highest transfer fee received, when they sold Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United for a then transfer record for a defender twenty years earlier.


Players


First-team squad

% % = joins 1 July 2025


Out on loan


Under-21s and Academy


Management


First-team staff


Medical team


Scouting and recruitment team


Owners and directors


Managers

The club's current manager Daniel Farke is the forty-first permanent holder of the position since Leeds were founded. Leeds have also had ten caretaker managers, three of whom had previously occupied the role on a full-time basis, and one of whom occupied the role three times. The most successful manager of Leeds United is Don Revie, who won two First Division titles, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Second Division title, one FA Cup, one League Cup, and one Charity Shield in his 13-year reign as manager. He is also the club's longest-serving manager, presiding over 740 games from 1961 to 1974.


Honours


Domestic

League *
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
(level 1) **Champions: 1968–69, 1973–74, 1991–92 **Runners-up: 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72 *
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
/
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
(level 2) **Champions: 1923–24, 1963–64, 1989–90, 2019–20, 2024–25 **Runners-up: 1927–28, 1931–32, 1955–56 *
League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...
(level 3) **Runners-up: 2009–10 Cup *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
**Winners: 1971–72 **Runners-up: 1964–65, 1969–70,
1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...
* League Cup **Winners: 1967–68 **Runners-up: 1995–96 *
FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...
**Winners:
1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
,
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
**Runners-up:
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...


European

*
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
**Runners-up: 1974–75 *
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
**Runners-up:
1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...
*
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...
**Winners: 1967–68, 1970–71 **Runners-up: 1966–67 *
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Trophy play-off The last Inter-Cities Fairs Cup edition was contested in the 1970–71 season before it was abolished and replaced by the UEFA Cup, a new seasonal confederation competition. The Fairs Cup trophy had not been won by any club permanently, so it wa ...
**Runners-up: 1971


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Football clubs in England Premier League clubs Association football clubs established in 1919 Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Football clubs in West Yorkshire FA Cup winners EFL Cup winners EFL Championship clubs 1919 establishments in England Sport in Leeds Phoenix clubs (association football) Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winning clubs