Massimo Cellino is a colourful and downright bizarre character who began his ownership of Leeds as he meant to go on – by accidentally sacking his manager thanks to his mistrust of a couch
Former Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino accidentally sacked his manager – due to his hatred for the colour purple.
The maverick Italian, now running Serie B side Brescia, took over the West Yorkshire club in 2014. He remained owner until 2017, overseeing a wild and chaotic period as expected by the man dubbed the ‘Manager Eater’ due to his appetite for sacking head coaches with first club Cagliari.
But the 67-year-old has now revealed the very first manager he sacked at Leeds – Brian McDermott – was not done intentionally. Cellino stunningly explained to the Daily Mail how it stemmed from him taking issue with a purple couch at Elland Road.
The Sardinian millionaire’s distrust for the “unlucky” colour saw him demand that club staff binned said couch. But his broken English landed him in a pickle as they thought he meant the head coach, resulting in McDermott’s sacking.
Cellino said: “I was a mess when I got there, my English was very poor. My pronunciation was terrible
