Leeds Fans United has been informed by Massimo Cellino's lawyers that he no longer wishes to sell the club to them.
Cellino agreed in principle to sell his majority shareholding to the supporter led group last week after being hurt by chanting from fans asking him to sell up during a home defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Leeds Fans United wanted an exclusivity agreement to be signed and would then conduct due diligence before purchasing Cellino's shareholding – but the deal is now off.
The group said in a statement: "Leeds Fans Utd has just been informed by the lawyers of Massimo Cellino that he no longer wishes to sell to Leeds fans.
"Our insistence on him confirming his verbal offer of exclusivity in a legally binding agreement has forced transparency on his motives. It is much better that we identify this insincerity now before we spend our shareholder’s money", the statement continued.
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"This exercise has proved our capacity to adapt to any acquisition scenario very quickly. We now know we have the capacity to do both a minority and majority deal, and it has shown that Leeds fans have a desire for fan ownership.
"We hope that Massimo will treat the club and fans with respect and honour."
Leeds Fans United had been looking at paying £30m to purchase Cellino's shareholding and wanted an exclusivity deal to guard against being outbid by other interested parties.
It remains to be seen whether Cellino still intends to sell, but to another party which can pay a higher price, or is again committed to Leeds for the long term.
