FSG, who bought the club in a deal worth around £300m in October 2010, are believed to be considering a sale although would prefer to attract new investors by selling a minority stake. Goldmann Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been asked to gauge buyer interest and the banks are expected to find out if any of the shortlisted bidders who missed out on the chance to buy Chelsea are interested in investing in Liverpool. Premier League clubs are rarely officially put up for sale as this would affect their value – and a statement from FSG said: “There have been a number of recent ownership changes and rumors of ownership changes at EPL clubs and inevitably we are regularly asked about ownership of Fenway Sports Group in Liverpool. “FSG have frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool. FSG has said in the past that under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club. “FSG remains fully committed to Liverpool’s success, both on and off the pitch.” Earlier this year, Russian Roman Abramovich completed the sale of Chelsea to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in a deal advised by Goldmann Sachs, putting the total takeover value at £4.25bn. The strong dollar and weak pound have theoretically made it cheaper for American investors to buy Premier League clubs at the moment. Chicago Cubs owners The Ricketts Family, Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca and a consortium led by former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton all lost out in the race to buy Chelsea in May. Sir Jim Ratcliffe also failed with a late bid worth more than £4bn. Liverpool is mainly owned by John W Henry, along with FSG chairman Tom Werner. Under FSG ownership, Liverpool have won the Premier League twice, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The club has also won the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Community Shield in that time. FSG also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Supporters group Spirit of Shankly have written to Liverpool seeking clarification on FSG’s current position. A statement read: “We have seen reports today that FSG have put Liverpool FC up for sale. “Spirit of Shankly has written to LFC for clarification and will await a response before commenting. However, we expect both the Supporters Board and SOS to be involved in some part of the process so that supporters are front and center of each sale and the first thoughts of prospective owners”.
Analysis: No “for sale” sign, but investment welcome
Image: Mohamed Salah is one of the players to sign for Liverpool under FSG ownership
Sky Sports News’ Vinny O’Connor at Anfield: “We have seen Liverpool’s owners open to outside investment in the past. Remember, in 2021 FSG effectively sold 11 per cent to RedBird Capital Partners for around £650m and they reiterated their stance that they are open to outside investment, but also they confirmed that commitment to Liverpool and its success. “This follows reports that they have effectively put Liverpool in the past with reports suggesting they are inviting bids for the club with major investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley brought in to help the valuation process. Since May this year, Liverpool valued at around £3.89 billion by Forbes. “However [in FSG’s statement]they did not address reports that investment banks had been brought in to view the valuation process. “But look at what FSG have achieved with Liverpool here. They spent £300m on the takeover in 2010 and it’s very different to what it was then. “They hired Jurgen Klopp in 2015 and since then they have been able to bring a much-coveted and long-awaited Premier League title. There was the Champions League, the League Cup, an FA Cup, a Club World Cup, and a European Super Cup. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player FREE WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool’s Premier League win over Tottenham “Add to that, the main stand [at Anfield] cost £110m, the £80m Anfield Road development also continues apace. Combined with the main stand, they will add around 16,000 seats in terms of capacity since taking over the club. “There have been difficult times for FSG as an ownership group as well. In 2019, they tried to go with the name ‘Liverpool’, which supporters didn’t like. They made a U-turn after the negative reaction to the proposal to lay off staff during the Covid pandemic. “There was another coup plan to increase ticket prices and again, fans protested and ownership took notice. Last year, John W Henry apologized for Liverpool’s participation in the proposed European Super League. As it stands, it is not a ‘for sale’ sign outside Anfield at the moment, but of course the reiteration that Liverpool and their ownership group are open to outside investment.”
Liverpool owners ‘have two options’
Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Why should FSG sell Liverpool? Football finance expert Kieran Maguire explains Football pundit Kieran Maguire on Sky Sports News: “I think they have two options. They can do a minority investment to generate money. I think there is an alternative view that Fenway Sports Group could possibly consider that they have gone as far as they can with Liverpool FC “They bought it for £300m, they can sell it for 12-14 times that [now]and now they are competing with sovereign wealth funds – we added Newcastle to the mix at the top of the Premier League with the wealth of their owners – and it becomes even more of a challenge to qualify for the Champions League when we have seven clubs going for four places. “In the short term, Liverpool are in a strong financial position. Fenway Sports Group has run the club very well, has a break-even model and has made money in terms of transfer sales over the past few years. “For the transfer market in the very short term, I think the club will be slightly cautious, at the same time Fenway Sports Group knows they need to invest to be competitive. “They [FSG] they’ve invested in infrastructure, they’ve taken that moneyball approach to recruiting and retaining players, and that means they’ve punched above their weight. “If we look at the period since Sir Alex Ferguson left [at Manchester United] in 2013, Liverpool will have spent half a billion pounds less than any other top-flight club, compared to Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City. “And I think it’s arguable that they’ve probably been the only main rivals to Manchester City over the last three or four years – I know they’ve had a bad season so far – but that’s because of the way they run the business and the way they’ve targeted players ».
