🔴 EOTK INSIDER 🔴: FSG want to sell Liverpool? What's actually going to happen?... and more ✍️
FSG dropped the bombshell that they are considering further investment into Liverpool Football Club...
You heard that right: Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s majority owners, have officially made clear their intention to seek further investment for the club.
This has inevitably given rise to a typically polarised response from fans on social media.
Those in the red corner have raised concerns about a potential change of hands that could compromise the side’s moral base, whilst those in the blue corner feel that FSG are, at best, a hindrance that have taken Liverpool as far as they possibly can.
There’s a grain of truth in both lines of thought, though the fact remains that this has inspired a considerable degree of uncertainty at a time where the Reds appear to be figuring things out on the pitch once more in the wake of an impressive 2-1 win over Tottenham.
What have FSG said? What are sources close to the Americans saying?
FSG’s full statement on the matter can be found courtesy of a tweet from The Athletic’s David Ornstein, reaffirming the owners’ commitment to seeing the club remain successful on and off the pitch.
It’s perhaps more interesting what the Red Sox owners don’t say rather than what they do. The lack of a clear statement refusing to part ways with Liverpool Football Club in full is rather telling in that regard.
A report from the Boston Globe (curiously the very outlet owned by John W. Henry and Co.) provided further details on the matter, establishing that Fenway are weighing up the prospect of inviting another investor on board or selling in full.
It all very much depends on, according to Michael Silverman, ‘what the appetite is for a partial or controlling share’.
Given we’re talking about one of the most successful sports outfits of all-time - never mind within the realm of football - there should be no shortage of potential suitors across the globe, even with a recession looming.
So we know a full sale of Liverpool IS a potential avenue on the table.
If FSG sell… who could Liverpool’s next owner be?
There’s a very real and alarming possibility that Liverpool end up with a set of owners who are violently in opposition to the club’s, and that of its support, morals.
A buyer from the Middle East
It’s no secret that Liverpool were the subject of serious interest from an unnamed suitor from the Middle East with FSG said to have rejected a deal amounting to £3bn in 2021.
With the Americans now prepared to consider the possibility of a full sale, John W. Henry and Co. could very well settle on an option they feel will allow the Reds to directly compete with the oil/state-funded outfits on the Premier League - including PIF-led Newcastle United and Sheikh Mansour’s Manchester City.
It’s a move that would be met with vehement opposition by the vast majority of Liverpool fans if the group in question are likewise connected with human rights abuses - and rightly so.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
The CEO of the Ineos Group Ltd made an attempt to buy Chelsea this year but was beaten out by Todd Boehly.
As a Manchester United fan, one might reasonably assume a move for the Red Devils’ arch rivals is somewhat unlikely.
Internal offer - RedBird
RedBird Capital Partners already own a 10% stake in Liverpool Football Club and haven’t ruled out the possibility of expanding.
Should FSG fail to identify another potential investor, the group led by Gerry Cardinale would have to be considered as possible favourites to take full ownership of the Merseysiders.