In a move to increase their ever-expanding football portfolio, controversial sports drink behemoths Red Bull have just acquired a minority stake in Championship side Leeds United.

The club, which is majorly owned by the 49ers Enterprises, had recently taken 100% control from previous owner Andrea Radrizzani after entering the club as a minority shareholder in 2018.

The Red Bull acquisition is the second high-profile arrival in the Leeds ownership group, with Hollywood actor Will Ferrell coming on board earlier this month. It is to be noted that the 49ers fund is comprised of multiple individuals with the 49ers in overall control.

It was revealed that talks between the two groups were in progress for quite a while, and despite Leeds suffering an agonizing defeat to Southampton in the promotion-playoff on Sunday, the deal is expected to go through nevertheless.

The deal, however specifies that Red Bull won't be granted a place in the Leeds board. Other factors like changing of the club colours, stadium name, or club name will not be discussed under any capacity.

This is not the first time that Red Bull has made an effort to acquire a stake in the Yorkshire-based club. They had earlier expressed a concrete desire to have an equity purchase in 2014, when Massimo Cellini was the owner of the club. However, no further conversations took place and the interest died down.

The deal also sees Red Bull become the club's official shirt sponsor, replacing current sponsor BOXT on a contract that is significantly more rewarding than the existing contract from a financial perspective.

Red Bull's journey into football ownership has always been shrouded under a substantial layer of controversy owing to their rebranding of the teams under their control. Germany's RB Leipzig and Austria's Red Bull Salzburg are the chief examples.

Leeds United will be hoping that the influx of cash from their new minority partners along with their own expertise and technical know-how in the football field will help them to return back to the Premier League next season after falling just one step short this time around.