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Leeds United have failed in their bid to buy back the Thorp Arch training ground.

The club will continue to rent the site for the next 20 years.

A statement on the Leeds United website reads: “The council were not able to provide the club with an unconditional letter of commitment to purchase Thorp Arch and then lease it back to the club.

“This meant that, if the club was to have exercised the option, the club would have been at risk of completing the transaction in 28 days’ time without the guarantee of funding. That was a £6m risk the club was not prepared to make.

“It is the club’s belief that the conditions that the council sought to attach to the offer could all have been satisfied before the expiry of the 28 days. However, as they were not all in the gift of the club, therefore it was decided not to proceed.”

Leeds City Council leader Andrew Carter told the BBC: “We note with some regret that Leeds United felt unable to exercise its option to acquire Thorp Arch before the deadline.

“Both parties have worked hard to remove the uncertainties surrounding the deal and only a small number remained outstanding.

“We concur with the club that given more time these uncertainties could have been removed. Unfortunately, the two parties didn’t have that time.”

The loss of Thorp Arch will be regarded as negligent by most Leeds fans who will not be able to fathom how a club that is now solvent, that has a dedicated support that half the Premier League envies, cannot raise a six million pound loan on a property worth more than that given they have had two years to prepare for it.

Frankly, there is something the fans are not being told.

I’m not surprised Leeds City Council missed out on a deal that would have backed the city of Leeds in its bids to host matches in the World Cups of football and rugby. I mean, when did you last meet a politician who could find their own arse in the dark?