The Political Economy of Football V2

The consortium including U.S. billionaire Jeff Bezos that has purchased a minority shareholding of Liverpool will hold the option of buying a controlling stake in the club per the terms of the agreement with current owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG). And sources on both sides of the deal have confirmed to The New York Times there is a mechanism that could see the consortium purchase a controlling stake in the club in the next 12 months. Those sources stress, however, that the language around this element of the transaction does not constitute a commitment, so it is merely an option that could lead to further investment as opposed to something that is set in stone. As part of the deal, FSG will continue to be majority shareholders in Liverpool and are retaining operational control of the club, with sources telling  The Athletic  on Friday that there will be no change to the leadership or day-to-day running of the Merseyside club.

The UK’s financial watchdog has fined and banned a British financier over bids he made to buy a bank and Reading Football Club, during which he falsely claimed to own a €200mn bond portfolio.  Paul Taylor, who has been involved in several large deals over the past three decades, “acted dishonestly and with a lack of integrity” during both sets of negotiations, the Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday, fining him £489,000.  Taylor, a former bricklayer turned financier who has previously been linked to the Qatar royal family, made “false and misleading statements” while he was chief executive of the London-based firm Blue Horizon Asset Management, according to the FCA. He has also been barred from working in financial services. In December 2023, during negotiations over the £37mn purchase of a UK bank, Taylor supported his position with documents claiming he was the ultimate beneficial owner of a €200mn bond portfolio, the FCA said. The claims triggered an exclusivity ...

The British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia leading leading the deal to buy a third of Liverpool does not possess the profile of his fellow syndicate members Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Facebook. He is the one, however, with a background in English football. He was involved with the fan advisory board, supporters’ groups and was chairman of QPR in the Community Trust. It was through those connections that he is said to have developed an understanding of what football clubs mean to people, something that will soon be put to the test again. The announcement last month that he was transferring his shareholding in QPR, a clear sign that the discussions to buy into Liverpool were progressing, produced something of a rarity in modern football. There were a slew of positive messages about Bhatia on social media rather than simply opprobrium. This was despite Bhatia’s promotion to QPR chairman in August 2018 failing to ...

  British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia is to become Liverpool’s new vice-chairman and take a place on the board in return for a minority stake in the 20-times English football champions.  He is to be joined on an expanded board by Elaine Saverin, the wife of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and Bryan Baum, who is representing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos rather than Bezos becoming a board member himself. The transaction documents provide options and flexibility for how a relationship may evolve over time, which effectively means that Bhatia would be in the driving seat to purchase a larger shareholding should FSG wish to sell more of the club in the future.  For now, FSG will retain majority ownership and there is to be no change in the day-to-day operation of Liverpool. The transaction is not a direct capital raise for the club, or an indication of a change in transfer strategy.  The deal remains subject to approval from the new Independent Football Regulat...

John Henry just cashed in. A group of investors backed by Jeff Bezos has put a $7bn valuation on Liverpool Football Club. Amit Bhatia — son-in-law of steel tycoon and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal — a Bezos-backed fund and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin are buying more than 30 per cent of the English Premier League team. It’s a huge return for Henry’s Fenway Sports Group, which bought Liverpool for about £300mn in 2010 when the club was in crisis. Shrewder still, considering Henry bought Liverpool five years after the Glazers took control of Manchester United for £790mn in a leveraged buyout. The new shareholders say something about the future of Liverpool and elite football. They’re globally minded, have deep pools of capital, with insights into key geographies and business trends. Under Fenway, Liverpool’s revenues surged from about £184mn in 2010-11 to north of £700mn in 2024-25. But Premier League clubs aren’t going to grow by fixating on their home market.   Broad...

A brochure detailing the sale of Leicester City and all its assets has been sent to potential investors. Global investment bank Citigroup has drafted the brochure, seen by  The New York Times , titled Project Lineup, which details Leicester’s assets, including its women’s team, academy, King Power Stadium and the £100million Seagrave training base they moved to six years ago.   Belgian sister club OH Leuven is also featured in the list of assets available. A source close to the process has told  The Athletic  that the Srivaddhanaprabha family, Leicester’s owners, are looking for $300m (£222m) for the entire portfolio, but a deal is more likely to be done at closer to $200m (£148m) due to the club’s recent drop into League One — English football’s third tier — and heavy recent losses. Over the last four accounting reports since 2021, Leicester have recorded losses of £92.5m, £89.7m, £19.4m and most recently £71.1m as the club has slipped from the top eight of th...