Apparently, there was a very good reason why Leeds waited until Friday to sack Paul Heckingbottom.
Heckingbottom always looked destined for the chop, having won only four of his 16 games in charge of Leeds after taking over from Thomas Christiansen in February.
But the end of the season came and went without confirmation of Heckingbottom’s future from club owner Andrea Radrizzani.
But once June arrived, it was announced that Heckingbottom had been relieved of his duties at Elland Road as the club targeted a “more experienced” manager.
And the reason that Radrizzani waited until June 1 to part ways with Heckingbottom, according to several outlets, was due to a clause in the manager’s contract which entitled him to a £1 million pay-off if he was let go before the start of June.
The Sun, Sunday Mirror and The People all report that the pay-off would be halved if Heckingbottom was sacked on or after June 1 so by holding off a few weeks, Radrizzani saved himself £500,000.
Heckingbottom remained hopeful of being given the chance to prove his worth with a full preseason at Leeds but the club had other ideas.
It’s been reported that talks have already taken place for former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa to take over and he is now odds-on to be named new Leeds manager.
