“Bielsa was angry that Radrizzani sold me” – former Leeds star reveals what really happened

A former Leeds United star has revealed the circumstances behind his departure from Elland Road just ahead of Marcelo Bielsa’s first season with the club.

Bielsa has remained a cult figure at Leeds for ending their 15-year wait to return to the Premier League in 2020, and turning Leeds from a mid-table Championship side to a top-flight team.

It is hard to imagine now where Leeds were when Bielsa took charge in 2018, and the state of their squad, which was struggling to escape the Championship’s mid-table mediocrity.

However, that team had a few top young players such as Kalvin Phillips. But the club had to sell one of those young talented players that summer, which left Bielsa furious.

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Former Leeds midfielder lifts the lid on his Elland Road departure

Ronaldo Vieira came out of the Leeds academy and impressed in the first team before Bielsa took charge in the summer of 2018.

The former Leeds midfielder has revealed that Bielsa made it clear that he wanted him in his plans, and he even started the friendly against Las Palmas just before the start of the Championship season in 2018/19.

However, Vieira claimed that Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani said Leeds had to accept an offer from Sampdoria because they had to balance their books.

He insisted that Bielsa was angry that Leeds were selling the midfielder then.

“When I came back [to pre-season], I had a conversation with Bielsa, and he said he wanted to make a team with a few players, and I was one of them”, Vieira told The Athletic.

“It was a really good conversation.

“He had a lot of faith in me. I felt important to him. We actually spoke a little bit in Spanish. Then we started training. I did the whole of pre-season. I never thought I’d be leaving. Nobody did.”

“Until that day [the Las Palmas friendly], I’m buying a house in Leeds”, Vieira added.

“[Leaving] is not in my head. After the game, Radrizzani comes to me. My mum was there, my dad was there. We spoke normally, and then he pulled me to the side. ‘Rony, I don’t want to sell you. Marcelo is angry at me right now, but this is what we need to do.’

“I don’t know if he said it was the rules or if it was to balance the books. I was shocked. My mum was right there.”

Read More: Former Leeds player admits his time at Elland Road ‘got really tough’

His career could have gone differently had Vieira stayed at Leeds

Several Leeds players of that era weren’t considered good enough for the top flight, but Marcelo Bielsa transformed several careers.

Kalvin Phillips ended up playing for England in a major final. Stuart Dallas, Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk became Premier League players.

Vieira, 28, is now in the MLS with the San Jose Earthquakes. It would not have been a surprise if the midfielder was still playing in the Premier League if Bielsa had succeeded in keeping him at Elland Road eight years ago.