Has Bezos been involved in sport before?

American businessman Bezos, founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, is the fourth-richest person in the world.

According to Forbes, the 62-year-old has an estimated net worth of $256.9bn (£192.1bn).

He stepped down as Amazon’s chief executive in 2021 to become executive chairman, although he still owns 8% of the company.

Bezos also owns The Washington Post and aerospace company Blue Origin and, as recently as 2021, was ranked as the world’s richest person.

Although Bezos has yet to invest in sport, he has come close on more than one occasion.

In 2023, the American billionaire was linked with a takeover of NFL franchise the Washington Commanders after owner Daniel Snyder put the team up for sale.

He has also previously explored the possibility of buying Super Bowl winners the Seattle Seahawks.

Bezos ultimately decided against submitting an offer for either franchise.

Why does FSG want new investment – and could it lead to a full sale?

By

Aadam Patel

Football reporter

When FSG sold a minority single-figure percentage stake to global sports investment firm Dynasty Equity in 2023, that deal allowed it to make up on revenue lost during the pandemic and pay down debt for projects such as investment in the club’s training centre in Kirkby and the Anfield Road stand expansion.

This time around, that is not the case – the club are in a strong position financially. In February, Liverpool verified that they achieved record revenues of more than £700m and was the highest-placed Premier League club in the Deloitte Football Money League.

So this development certainly raises questions about the long-term future of FSG. From an FSG perspective, it has seen Liverpool win everything there is to win since buying the club in 2010 for £300m, while upgrading the training ground and developing the stadium. According to the Financial Times, a deal with the Bhatia consortium would value the club at around £4.5bn. So perhaps FSG believes the club is peaking and it may be time to start stepping away.

This is an uncertain time for Liverpool with a new head coach in Andoni Iraola and big changes at senior level, with Michael Edwards stepping down as FSG’s CEO of football, primarily because the ownership had moved away from the idea of investing in other football clubs. Meanwhile, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has been strongly linked with a move to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

What do the fans think?

For now, Liverpool supporters are left with more questions than answers.

Since completing its takeover of the club in October 2010, Fenway Sports Group, then known as New England Sports Ventures, has established itself as a steady and reliable custodian.

The American ownership group has overseen sustained success on and off the pitch, with Liverpool winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup since 2019.

Therefore, the prospect of new investors, and potentially new ideas and approaches, inevitably raises questions, particularly if they are entering elite-level sport for the first time.

Liverpool supporter Neil Atkinson, CEO of The Anfield Wrap, told BBC Sport that questions “should be asked whenever anyone is interested in paying money for an involvement in any Premier League club”.

He stated: “What is in it for these very, very wealthy individuals, for whom Liverpool’s yearly turnover, not profit, which is rare for Premier League clubs, would barely make a dent?

“The ‘why’ won’t be one thing or the same across the board. Part-ownership in four or five sports across the globe could have been deemed to have more value for the Mittal family than partnerships, for instance. At least here you still hold the value of the asset.

“However, as long as everyone keeps asking the ‘why’ at such an expensive price point, then we will hopefully understand the motive more at some stage.”

Almost four years after FSG explored the possibility of selling the 20-time English champions, the prospect of new investors raises the question of whether this could be part of a longer-term strategy towards an eventual exit from Anfield.

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