Alexis Mac Allister’s struggles have mirrored Liverpool’s this season
Following on from all the drama of this summer’s World Cup tournament as shared by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, much of the talk was about whether or not this would now be the moment where soccer truly exploded in the US and went far beyond the growth and realms of Major League Soccer.
Whether that does now ultimately happen after all of the action, the entertainment and the experiences taken in by those who seized their opportunity to travel to one of the many games, has died down with others sports, and the returning National Football League, taking centre stage again remains to be seen, but it has certainly peaked the interest of some.
A number of American’s have long held a fascination with English teams, and in particular their domestic Premier League competition, and MLS fans are likely very aware of their English counterparts with the way players have moved between the divisions, and on an ownership front it is no different: and it seems that the world’s fourth richest man – Jeff Bezos – will be the latest to invest as he reportedly leads a consortium into advanced talks to buy a 30% stake in 2024/25 title winners Liverpool. For many on the US side this kind of deal would be expected from a homegrown businessman with such wealth, in fact for fans who bet on sports online, Bezos was a likely candidate for further investment moves given his dabbling with US teams in recent years.
For Liverpool fans maybe not so much, as they are viewing the reported deal quite cautiously as their prior experience with Tom Hicks and George Gillette did not go so well: they were reportedly flirting with the ‘brink of bankruptcy’ according to former CEO Billy Hogan when they finally sold up. With Forbes stating that Bezos has a personal fortune of around the $257 billion range, by comparison Liverpool’s historic record revenues in their last published accounts amounted to just £703 million.
It is quite a difference in the two margins, and as part of a consortium – even allowing for his figurehead status – it would be a very minimal investment from Bezos’ point of view. On current figures, given the growth and investment under them since Fenway Sports Group took charge of the club, Liverpool’s overall valuation now stands at around the £4.5 billion mark: 13 times what the side were worth when they first purchased it for £300 million back in 2010.
Should the deal ultimately go through and be fully agreed, a 30% sale would mean a £1.35 billion boost to FSG’s pockets. Not a bad bit of business in 16 years given they would continue to hold (on low estimates given other minority owners) about 63% of the club, which obviously continues to represent majority control.
The deal itself would not lead to any meaningful or immediate change for Liverpool or their existing budgets and financial position, it would purely be FSG profiting on their original outlay and recouping those sums. Returning to Bezos and his investment, he filed last week to sell 15 million of his remaining Amazon shares to a market value total of £3.1 billion.
A drop in a very large ocean, whichever way you look at it. But, it would still be another Stateside interest in the English game, and that may have domestic relevance in terms of building on the legacy of the World Cup, and further growth and development of the MLS. Not least as the Anfield outlet are one of the fastest growing fan base in the US, with recent research suggesting 26 million resident fans.
