Red Bull staying in football and exploiting synergy

The notoriously secretive co-owner and co-founder of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, did an interview with Profil (an Austrian weekly magazine). During the interview, he talks about his teams in Salzburg and Leipzig, with a little Formula 1 thrown in. Mateschitz describes Red Bulls' corporate plan for international football going "very positively" and proceeding according to plan.

On criticism of synergy.

It is ridiculous. Of course we're trying to exploit synergies, who wouldn't? All of our activities in this regard are within the preset of the FIFA Regulations.

Recently, Red Bull Leipzig was blocked from "transferring" in Nils Quaschner from Red Bull Salzburg. He was ineligible to play for the German side because he played with multiple teams during the preseason.

On protests from soccer fans and supporters.

This so-called enmity is very limited. If you want to stretch the mathematics, we are talking about zero point zero percent of all football fans. The fringe groups don't understand anything or have other motives. This activism is picked up by the media and serves to create headlines.

Some would argue that the protests are not limited nor made up of zero percent of fans.

On what would cause Red Bull to get out of football.

I could not think of anything at the moment.

Red Bull isn't getting out of football, but they're also not buying Leeds United (according to them and I'm fully acknowledging that they may end up owning the English club very soon).

In case you're wondering what Mateschitz's opinions are on the New York Red Bulls and how the franchise is currently running, he wasn't asked. Mateschitz also didn't offer any information about the American team he has yet to see play in the stadium he paid to build. However, he also didn't talk about Red Bull Brazil or the academy in Ghana that was sold to Dutch outfit Feyenoord, so perhaps the interview was focused solely on European holdings.

Regardless of what happens in England, Austria, Germany, or America, Dietrich Mateschitz and Red Bull don't see any obstacles in their way and view their current clubs as a success.

Do you support the direction Red Bull is going in? Do you see Red Bull buying Leeds United? Is synergy between teams under the same umbrella a sound strategy?