With Christmas approaching two years ago, Fenway Sports Group’s ownership of Liverpool Football Club was at a crossroads. Uncertainty reigned.
U.S. banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley had been tasked
with sounding out interest from investors. FSG, the Boston-based firm that had
paid £300million ($380m in today’s exchange) for Liverpool in October
2010, had long since been open to the idea of selling a minority stake, but the
difference this time was that a full sale was also on the table.
The backdrop was key. Having seen Chelsea sold six
months earlier to a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd
Boehly for £2.5billion — with another £1.75bn committed to investing in the
club’s infrastructure — FSG wanted to establish what potential buyers would
pay, with Forbes valuing the club at around £4bn.
With then sporting director Julian Ward and director of
research Ian Graham both serving notice to quit their roles and Jurgen Klopp’s
side a fading force on the field, it all added to a growing sense of turmoil.
Two years on, the landscape is very different. FSG remains
at the helm and under their stewardship a new era has been launched. Liverpool
are top of both the Premier League and the group phase of the Champions
League, and in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, where they face faltering Southampton tonight.
What was billed as the most difficult transition facing a
major Premier League club since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as Manchester
United manager in 2013 has so far proved to be almost seamless. Klopp’s ‘Liverpool 2.0’ restored the club to
Europe’s elite before his emotional Anfield goodbye in May and since then Arne
Slot has led an evolution rather than revolution.
FSG still has its critics, with a section of the fanbase
frustrated at its rigid commitment to a self-sustaining business model and an
unwillingness to take greater risks in the transfer market. But there is also
little doubt that FSG’s 14-year reign at Anfield has been given fresh impetus —
and that any talk of a sale is off the table.
In the absence of any suitably attractive proposals, it was
increasingly clear by January 2023 that FSG would only be selling a minority
stake in Liverpool. Senior club
officials, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, tell The
Athletic now that they viewed the process as “a fishing expedition”.
“There was never any clearing of the decks, it felt like it
was more a case of testing the market,” one said. “And if you want to sell a
slice of the cake for the best possible price, it makes sense to establish what
the whole cake is worth.”
In September 2023, following discussions with a number of
interested parties, FSG sold a small stake in Liverpool to New York-based
sports investment firm Dynasty Equity. Sources close to the deal said it was
worth between $100m and $200m — a stake of around 3-4 per cent.
FSG made it clear that the money would be used to reduce
bank debt and go towards the cost of projects such as the Anfield Road Stand
redevelopment and the repurchasing of Melwood training ground for the women’s
team.
When Klopp spoke to his players in the dressing room after
the final game of his reign at Anfield in May, he told them: “You have
made a great start to the new era. Now you will all benefit from new energy.”
Those words proved prophetic. New voices, new ideas, but all
underpinned by the same high standards. Slot has built on what Klopp left
behind and has been helped by the structure created by Edwards and Hughes
around him. What a contrast to two
years ago when talk of a possible takeover dominated the agenda and there were
major issues that needed addressing both on and off the pitch.
But now there are no whispers of takeovers, or even of FSG
diluting their position. For the senior officials spoken to by The
Athletic, such talks are completely “off the table”. The club that FSG has controlled for 14 years
remains tightly in its grip.
Like any owners FSG have their flaws, but they must count as
the best among the leading clubs.
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