Edwards departure raises questions for Liverpool and FSG

When Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon started to plan for Liverpool’s future without Jurgen Klopp in early 2024, his first call was to Michael Edwards.

Initially, Gordon’s attempts to get Edwards back on board were in vain. Enjoying more family time with wife Emily and their children, and the slower pace of life working as a consultant for Ludonautics, the sports advisory analytics business launched by his former Liverpool colleague Ian Graham, Edwards had no interest in returning to his old job as the club’s sporting director.

However, Gordon refused to admit defeat and following discussions in Boston, he belatedly got his man by offering him a role with a much wider remit as FSG’s first CEO of football.

Edwards, who had left the club in 2022 after more than a decade of service, was given responsibility for overseeing Liverpool’s budget and strategy. He was also tasked with identifying, buying and subsequently running another European club, with FSG vowing to embark on a multi-club model.  Gordon described him as “one of the most formidable executive talents in world football” when the appointment was announced in March 2024.

With Edwards bringing in Richard Hughes and the new sporting director recruiting head coach Arne Slot, who initially surpassed all expectations in delivering the Premier League title in his first season, the transition post-Klopp seemed remarkably seamless. A new structure had been established and the club was flourishing.

The edifice crumbles

How quickly the edifice has crumbled. Six weeks after Slot was sacked following a dismal season which resulted in a fifth-placed league finish, Edwards has gone and Hughes is set to follow suit later this year.

A new era is about to dawn at Anfield under the new head coach Andoni Iraola, but at executive level there’s instability and uncertainty. Gordon, who had been keen to take a step back two years ago, is set to resume oversight of FSG’s football operations rather than recruit a direct replacement for Edwards.

The second club dilemma

In his departure statement Edwards was referred indirectly to FSG shelving plans to buy a second club.   There’s no mystery surrounding his departure; it’s simply a case of not wanting to stick around given how the goal posts have shifted compared to what he initially signed up for.

Back in March 2024, he said: “One of the biggest factors in my decision is the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club, growing this area of their organisation. I believe that to remain competitive, investment and expansion of the current football portfolio is necessary.”

However, despite extensive analysis being conducted on around 25 clubs with a strong focus on Spain, Portugal and France, no proposal ever got the green light from the FSG board.

Why did it mean so much to Edwards? Since post-Brexit regulations came into force in 2021, English clubs haven’t been able to sign players under the age of 18 from overseas. Owning a club in a country which is still a member of the European Union can help to circumvent those rules, as young players can be based there until they reach adulthood. It’s also cost-effective given how the price of the best under-21 players across the continent has risen significantly in recent years.

Plus, there are potential benefits in terms of developing Liverpool’s own homegrown youngsters through the use of the loan system, giving them greater control over both playing style and game time at a club in the same stable.

 FSG pulled the plug on Bordeaux due to financial concerns. As well as the French club’s debts, one sticking point was that their stadium, built for Euro 2016, was owned by the local municipality.

The possibility of buying a minority stake in Ligue One outfit Monaco was explored, but there were no reassurances from UEFA that they would allow both Liverpool and Monaco to compete in the same European competition.

Jury remains out

During his first spell at Liverpool, Edwards was rightly lauded for the role he played alongside Klopp in recruiting a team which scaled some stunning heights. He was influential in the signing of legendary names such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Alisson and Van Dijk.

The jury remains out on his second spell given how the club’s fortunes nosedived over the past 12 months. Last summer, £449million was invested in the squad, the biggest spending spree in the club’s history — but Liverpool went backwards.

Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, the two most expensive signings in the club’s history, have yet to live up to their sky-high price tags. Only time will tell whether Iraola repays the faith shown in him after Slot was shown the door.

But Liverpool have only won two league titles in the past 36 years, and they both coincided with Edwards being part of the setup. Having pushed the boat out to lure him back in 2024, it’s not a good look for FSG that he’s gone so soon.