Fenway Sports Group's tenure as Liverpool owners could be set to end with reports suggesting the club has been put up for sale by the American group.
Shortly after lunchtime on Monday afternoon, the news surfaced that FSG - led by principal owner John W. Henry - have produced a sale presentation for parties interested in acquiring Liverpool Football Club.
A statement read: "There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumours of changes in ownership at EPL clubs and inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group’s ownership in Liverpool.
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“FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool. FSG has said before 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 the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch.”
Formerly called New England Sports Ventures, Henry and business companion Tom Werner completed the takeover from fellow Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks in October 2010 for a reported £300m. In the twelve years since, the self-sustaining business model implemented by the club's owners has attracted mass amounts of criticism due to teams like Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United being able to operate under much looser restraints. However, Werner and Henry have supervised the Reds' most successful on-field era since the 1970s, in addition to the club flourishing off-the-pitch by registering record pre-tax profits in 2019.
These unanticipated developments will no doubt come as a shock to the footballing world, with Henry declaring FSG's commitment to continuing the Liverpool project in recent years, with both actions and words.
The most recent example of such dedication arrived in the form of the Anfield Road end expansion, which is due to be completed in time for the start of the 2023/24 season. The £80m scheme is Liverpool's third major construction project in FSG's tenure, following the previous Main Stand and AXA Training Centre builds in 2016 and 2020 respectively.
And in 2022, Tom Werner spoke to the ECHO about FSG's commitment to Liverpool and insisted that the FSG partnership with investors RedBird was part of their long-term strategy.
"RedBird are a group of individuals that I have been aware of, friendly with and respectful of for two decades," says Werner of the partnership. "And Gerry Cardinale, who is the managing partner, they do a number of projects in their own right apart from investing in Fenway Sports Group and we're going to be working on future projects together. They have been an excellent opportunity and have brought a number of ideas to us.
"We're indebted to them because we've recently acquired Springhill Entertainment with them, a company owned by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, and they're very wise in their own right. I don't know anything more than what is said in the newspapers, but I know they are looking at acquiring AC Milan. They are very keen on investing in sports.
"I think, first of all, I want to say that we would always like to live by the motto of under-promising and over-delivering, and I think that growing the stadium capacity from 54,000 to 61,000 is appropriate for a club of our size, legacy and character.
"The fact we've spent an enormous amount of time to make sure the improvements are in line with our efforts to be sustainable is very important to us. We know how important the whole thrust of the point of change is and we're doing our part in creating the right kind of expansion of Anfield Road."
Dating further back, when speaking to Sky Sports after Liverpool won the Champions League in June 2019, Henry insisted Liverpool's sixth European Cup would not make up for the disappointment of missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City weeks earlier and they would continue to invest in Jurgen Klopp's playing squad.
"It doesn’t make up for it,” the 73-year-old said. “Not winning the Premier League this year means it’s an even larger goal for next year.
“Sort of like going back to the Champions League final this year was something our guys set their minds on. We’ll be set on winning next year. We’re going to have a go, and we’re strong already.
“Every year—we haven’t gone through that process yet, because we’re still playing—but every year we’ve shown we’re willing to invest in the right kind of player and do it the right way so the club is sustainable.”
Despite only adding Harvey Elliott, Sepp van den Berg and Adrian to their ranks in the ensuing summer, the Reds romped to league title glory for the first time in 30 years and boasted an astonishing 18-point lead over Pep Guardiola's side in second place. But the inability to compete with the Citizens' financial powers meant that has been the solitary Premier League title of FSG's twelve-year command.
They have explored different opportunities to maximise their own financial resources and in April 2021, Liverpool were one of the twelve clubs that signed up to be a founding member of the European Super League project which was masterminded by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
The aim of such an agreement was that Europe's self-proclaimed 'leading' clubs would form their own breakaway league and therefore be permitted to a greater portionof the commercial revenue due to taking UEFA out of the equation.
Whether FSG and Henry, who - along with nine other clubs - pulled out of the proposals after an abundance of backlash from supporters, believed the concept would ever work was one question, but the reasoning behind signing up for the fallen project was clearly to help bridge the gap between the Reds and the likes of Manchester City. Who are owned by Sheikh Mansour, the deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and is reported to have a net worth of close to £20 billion.
In the days that followed Liverpool's swift exit from the competition, Henry insisted FSG's work at Anfield "is not done".
"I want to apologise to all the fans and supporters of Liverpool Football Club for the disruption I caused over the past 48 hours," said Henry in a statement on the Liverpool Football Club website.
"It goes without saying but should be said that the project put forward was never going to stand without the support of the fans. No-one ever thought differently in England. Over these 48 hours you were very clear that it would not stand. We heard you. I heard you.
"And I want to apologise to Jürgen, to Billy, to the players and to everyone who works so hard at LFC to make our fans proud. They have absolutely no responsibility for this disruption. They were the most disrupted and unfairly so. This is what hurts most. They love your club and work to make you proud every single day."
He added: "I know the entire LFC team has the expertise, leadership and passion necessary to rebuild trust and help us move forward. More than a decade ago when we signed up for the challenges associated with football, we dreamed of what you dreamed of. And we’ve worked hard to improve your club. Our work isn’t done. And I hope you’ll understand that even when we make mistakes, we’re trying to work in your club’s best interests. In this endeavour I’ve let you down."
"Again, I’m sorry, and I alone am responsible for the unnecessary negativity brought forward over the past couple of days. It’s something I won’t forget. And shows the power the fans have today and will rightly continue to have.
"If there’s one thing this horrible pandemic has clearly shown, it’s how crucial fans are to our sport and to every sport. It’s shown in every empty stadium. It’s been an incredibly tough year for all of us; virtually no-one unaffected. It’s important that the Liverpool football family remains intact, vital and committed to what we’ve seen from you globally, with local gestures of kindness and support. I can promise you I will do whatever I can to further that."
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