The Political Economy of Football V2

Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has ended its interest in buying La Liga club Getafe. The cost of the takeover — coupled with Spain’s strict limitations on spending linked to the club’s limited revenue — are understood to have ultimately made it prohibitive. Getafe president AngeloTorres, who had previously put off potential bidders with a valuation of around £160million ($211m), had lowered his price tag to closer to £100m ($132m), while publicly downplaying talk of selling the club he has owned since 2002. However, FSG were the latest in a long line of suitors to show serious interest in a club which has built a reputation for being well run and developing young talent. FSG have been committed to building a multi-club group around Liverpool since Michael Edwards was appointed as their CEO of football in March 2024. Over the past 18 months, FSG technical director Julian Ward has also been heavily involved in trying to find the right opportunity. French club Bordeaux ...

Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is in talks with Getafe president Angel Torres about a staged takeover that would add the La Liga club to its portfolio of sports teams. FSG’s interest in Getafe was first reported in Spain last month but Torres downplayed the status of the talks earlier this month in an interview with Spanish radio station COPE, saying there have been rumours about a takeover since he bought the club in 2002 “and now it’s Liverpool but we’re not for sale”. Despite this denial, it is widely known in the industry that Getafe have been for sale for years and FSG is just the latest to take an interest in the club, who are about to start their 21st season out of the last 22 in Spain’s top flight. Over that period they have built a reputation for being well-run and for developing young talent, such as current Aston Villa midfielder Emi Buendia, Galatasaray’s on-loan striker Alvaro Morata and their in-demand Nigerian star Christantus Uche. Torres has previous...