Hollywood star: I want to see LUFC march into Premier League
Hollywood star Russell Crowe has done little to dampen speculation about his possible interest in buying Sky Bet Championship club Leeds.
The 50-year-old Oscar-winning actor and lifelong Leeds supporter sparkedrumours he was keen to invest in the club last month when he asked a fan on his Twitter site whether it would be a good idea to buy them.
Crowe did not deny or confirm the speculation of potential investment during an interview on Simon Mayo's BBC Five Live show on Thursday, but said that he wanted "nothing but success" for Leeds and was "getting a littleimpatient".
Speaking ahead of the release of his latest film, The Water Diviner, Crowe also said he had learned a lot about owning a top sports club during his nine years as joint-owner of Australian rugby league side South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The Rabbitohs won the NRL Championship for the first time in 43 years inOctober and recently beat Super League side St Helens to become worldchampions.
"Step-by-step, by changing the culture, changing the merchandise, changing the player roster, changing the coaching staff, changing the administrative staff and changing our connection to our community - we have risen from being perennial losers to being competitive, to being dominant - and now we're champions," Crowe added.
Italian Massimo Cellino, who bought Leeds from Bahrain investment firm Gulf Finance House Capital in December 2013, is currently disqualified from running the club.
Cellino was disqualified by the Football League in January following hisconviction in Italy for tax evasion and had his ban extended until May 3 earlier this month for withholding information about his conviction.
Cellino is currently appealing against the League's punishment under theFootball Association's Rule K, which could result in an independent arbitration tribunal.