On both sides of the Atlantic there have been questions raised by fans around where the allegiances of Fenway Sports Group lie when it comes to team ownership.
Liverpool fans have argued in the past that FSG are more interested in their stewardship of the Boston Red Sox, while in Massachusetts the opposite has been said during times of struggle for the team.
The Reds owners have come in for criticism on both sides of the pond recently, with Liverpool having been viewed as underinvesting in the playing squad and falling behind their rivals, while in Boston the Red Sox have just finished a dismal campaign where they finished last in the American League East and ranked 19th out of the 30 Major League Baseball teams.
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Investment is required into the Liverpool playing squad in either January or next summer, that is an undeniable truth, and the Red Sox are also facing a fairly weighty spend when it comes to their off-season, with major contract renewals with stars such as Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts due, as well as the desire for the fan base to see the team make a statement signing.
But while challenges exist at FSG's two most valuable teams, the idea that one takes precedent over the other is something that has been rejected by one of FSG's senior leadership team.
Speaking at the Financial Times' US Business of Sport Summit in New York earlier this week, Samantha Barkowski, vice president of strategy and growth at FSG, Fenway Sports Management and the Boston Red Sox, said: "I think if you ask the fans, particularly in the Boston market and maybe the Liverpool market, that is sometimes a criticism or a question, whether our focus has been pulled away from our original properties, but absolutely not.
"We view it as very complimentary, it's an eco-system with a lot of cross pollination and each property helps the other, one is never taking away from the other."
Barkowski, who was a key player in the FSG acquisition of the Pittsburgh Penguins in November of 2021, also moved to reaffirm the ownership's stance on the success of their teams, stating that it was the 'obligation' of FSG to deliver successful teams in Liverpool, Boston and Pittsburgh, stressing that the passion of the fanbases on both sides of the Atlantic was acknowledged.
Barkowski said: "If you look at the teams in our portfolio, the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool and now the Pittsburgh Penguins, the one thing that is consistent across all three of those is the strength of those fan bases.
"Those fans are just incredibly passionate and so deeply engaged with their teams, and that is really important to us. We view team ownership as a public trust and we care about winning and view it as our obligation to put possible team on the ice or the field every year. We want fans that care."
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