FSG appear no close to agreeing a full sale or attracting further investment into Liverpool Football Club since first putting the outfit on the market back in November last year.
This comes amid poor performances on the pitch that have left the Reds still searching for their first win since the return of domestic action.
“If we were to compare Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) attempt to sell Liverpool to the sale of a house, it might be time to try a different estate agent. Because three months in and… no firm bids, not much buzz,” Matt Slater wrote for The Athletic.
“The team’s dire form is not helping but the real issues are out of FSG’s hands.
“On a macro level, the global economy is struggling to shake off the twin effects of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. And money is more expensive than it has been for years, as interest rates went up again on both sides of the Atlantic last week.
“On the micro level, you have the fact that two weeks after the FSG announcement, the Glazer family put that lot up the road on the market, too, by saying they would listen to bids for some or all of Manchester United. That cast some shade over Liverpool’s prospectus.”
That’s not to say the Merseysiders have no potential options on the table, of course, with investment from the Middle East or a failed Chelsea bidder providing possible avenues for exploration.
“The Qataris are looking for a minority stake in a Premier League power and it will most likely mirror the 10 to 15 per cent stake they are looking to sell in the current star of their football portfolio, Paris Saint-Germain. Various funds are eyeing that opening,” the reporter added.
“And some of the losers in the Chelsea process are interested in buying stakes in either Liverpool or United, with Crystal Palace co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer at the front of that particular queue.
“There has been speculation about bids from Saudi Arabia but they have not gone beyond that — suggesting separation from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that bought Newcastle United in 2021 might be beyond even the finest legal minds money can buy.
“It has been reported that FSG may be able to persuade RedBird Capital Partners to almost triple its investment in the transatlantic sports empire from 11 per cent to 30 per cent, a move that could realise an additional £1billion for Liverpool’s owners, a good chunk of which would almost certainly be invested in the business.
“RedBird, however, already owns Toulouse and a majority stake in AC Milan. It is not commenting on whether it wants more of Liverpool’s ownership group but is not believed to be actively thinking about it either.”
From Liverpool’s perspective, we can safely say that any entities connected to regimes responsible for human rights abuses won’t be seriously considered given how keen FSG are said to be on leaving a positive legacy behind at Anfield.
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Where this leaves Liverpool ahead of the summer window is impossible to say at the moment.
An injection of a proportion of the potential funds that would be gained from RedBird increasing their stake would certainly provide some reassurance regarding a much-needed overhaul required at the end of the campaign.
Otherwise, it’s difficult to see where the money’s coming from in a sell-to-buy system where we don’t really have many options available who could provide the backbone of our potential spending in the next window.
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