Leeds United vice chairman Paraag Marathe, director of football Victor Orta, CEO Angus Kinnear and executive director Paul Bell watch a match
Paraag Marathe (grey suit) is Leeds United's vice-chairman and president of US co-owners 49ers Enterprises

English football is so rare and special that club owners need to be respectful of that.

The Elland Road club is owned by an American.

US investment in English football is a danger to the game.

Paraag Marathe said he was a huge fan of English football.

"As far as I'm concerned, I don't proclaim to know all of the history and cultural things about what makes English football special and different," he said.

I am very appreciative of the current set-up and I am learning a lot about it.

The English football pyramid is almost a misnomer because these are clubs that are part of people's families.

You talk about your club the same way you talk about a little brother, a little sister, a mum or a dad. If someone talks bad about your club, you will protect it at all costs.

I want to protect what that is because that is just different.

I am not a fan of changing the sanctity of what that is. If it improves upon it, or if it makes it more transparent, or if it makes it better, then I'm in favor of it.

Nobody else in the world has it.

Marathe is the president of 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, which now has a 44% stake in the English football team.

The 49ers have the option to purchase a majority stake in the team from the owner of the team.

With Bournemouth set for a takeover by a US businessman, and also holding talks with US investors, 12 of the league's clubs could soon be owned by Americans.

The heavy presence of Americans in the English game does not sit easy with many after the attempts to change football in recent years, with former England and Manchester United defender Neville saying American owners "just don't get it and think differently".

His words came after Todd Boehly suggested a US style 'All-Star game' in the premier league, an idea that didn't impress many.

The leadership group of the failed European Super League was made up of three American club owners, including the co-owners of Manchester United.

Marathe wants others to stop fixing football in England.

He said it is something that is very special and rare and works.

English football has its own style. The FA Cup gives everyone a chance, a small club in a little known part of the country can win the cup, and there's money to be made from that.

Don't attempt to fix it if it's not broken. It works here, it's special, it's unique, and it's rare, so you don't want to take away anything that makes it rare.

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