'Closed-loop universes' - Paraag Marathe addresses Rangers-Leeds United relationship and Uefa conflict question

Marathe is also chairman at the English club as well as being president of 49ers Enterprises, who are part of a consortium that have now taken ownership of Rangers.

Along with new chairman Andrew Cavenagh, Marathe was in Glasgow on Monday for an egm at which their proposed initial investment of £20m was ratified.

Marathe later met with reporters at Ibrox and set out how he envisaged sharing his time between Rangers, Leeds and 49ers Enterprises, who are the investment wing of the NFL team San Francisco 49ers. He confirmed they would remain separate entities – “closed-loop universes” is the phrase he employed – although he also stated that there would clearly be a degree of cooperation to everyone’s mutual benefit. As for any issues with Uefa with regards their concerns about owners having a say in different clubs who might then meet in European competition, he said any issues about a potential conflict of interest have already been “solved”. He explained that Rangers and Leeds, who have been promoted back to the Premier League, are very much still independent of each other.

“It would be a disservice to Leeds and Rangers to consider one a feeder club to the other,” said Marathe. “Consider them both closed-loop universes that deserve proper attention and nurture and care - we will designate and assign resources approximately.

“But look, there are opportunities to learn from each other, whether it’s commercially or competitively on the pitch. I mean, it could just be simple things. If there’s a plumbing issue and we go through certain plumbers who are terrible and certain ones who are good. If Elland Road had a plumbing issue, we’re certain to want to call and figure out who the best plumber is!

“You can apply that analogy to an agent, so there’s lots that you can share. So me being able to sit across both means I can help navigate those too.

“In my mind it’s a real positive to have two clubs like that but there’s not one that is subordinate to the other. That would be a disservice.”

As for how he would spend his time between the teams, he imagined it would not become something that was set in stone. Rather, he would be where he was needed.

“I don’t see it as hours in a day, days in a week or weeks in a year,” he said. “I really don’t. To me, I hate losing and I want to win. I will do whatever I need to do to keep me on the winning side of the ledger at any club. That is all I care about. I don’t even know where I was two days ago. Honestly. Right now I am here and thinking about this. That is all that drives me."

Asked to outline the difference between his experience of American football and British football, he pointed to the relentless nature of the latter, where there are at least twice as many league matches.

“I thought the NFL was intense because we have 17 games,” he said. “It is next level here!” As for the difference between Rangers and Leeds, he was clear. “There are not many clubs in the world that every year have the hope and expectation of winning the league and playing in Europe and winning cups,” he said. “Rangers is a crown jewel of Europe. Every year we get to have that hope and expectation. And that, frankly, is different.”