Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group has agreed to sell a minority stake in the club worth between £82m and £164m to global sports investment firm Dynasty Equity.

What FSG’s Potential Multi-Club Ownership Means For Liverpool

Liverpool has enjoyed success under its current [+]ownership of Fenway Sports Group.PA Images via Getty Images

Liverpool FC is one of the most iconic names in world soccer. To the impassioned Anfield-going Scousers and the many supporters the world over, it simply is. Now, with its U.S. owner Fenway Sports Group interested in buying struggling French team Bordeaux, the club—with its own identity and illustrious history—may soon form part of a multi-club ownership (MCO) model for the first time.

Although this has come to light recently, as negotiations with Bordeaux progress, it’s been on the cards for a while—in line with former sporting director Michael Edwards returning to serve Liverpool as FSG’s CEO of Football. And there is a decent chance, with Bordeaux owner Gérard López also controlling the Portuguese top-division side Boavista, that Boavista eventually falls under FSG’s command, too.

No longer a disruptor, MCO has become quite common in elite soccer, from energy drink brand Red Bull’s breakthrough to the City Football Group having Manchester City competing for titles in England and Girona in Spain. If done well, it allows clubs to align their ways of working—in terms of management and developing players, often bringing success. So, what is FSG and Liverpool’s vision? And, crucially, what could the result be?

The Liverpool Brand

While FSG, led by businessman John Henry, has yet to dip its toes into other soccer clubs, it has visibility in various places. Very much a multi-sport operation, this is a natural next step.

“I think it’s a brand thing for FSG, not necessarily Liverpool,” says Jason Stephens, who works in MCO consultancy, in a chat with me. “If you look at what FSG is doing in sports, it’s not just football (soccer). There are connections to F1, innovative golf, racing car teams, franchises in America, and more.”

Still, how will linking to another team impact the Reds’ image?



Liverpool’s new head coach Arne Slot has already [+]started pre-season preparations with most of his squad.Liverpool FC via Getty Images

“I think the Liverpool brand is bulletproof,” the soccer finance expert Kieran Maguire tells me in an interview. “It’s global. It’s got a huge international fanbase, which it can monetize if Liverpool wants to announce a preseason tour in any country worldwide. The tickets will sell out immediately. It’s completely immune from alternative clubs.”

MCO doesn’t guarantee success, and it’s an unknown quantity for Liverpool—Forbes’ fourth most valuable soccer team—which has its own long-standing tradition. That said, it’s a sign that FSG wants to keep up with the times and perhaps get Liverpool ahead, with MCO only set to increase over the years.

A Financial Call

As well as growing its portfolio, there’s an economic motive for FSG. Investing in more teams limits the overall financial loss if one project doesn’t work out perfectly, so steady, if not significant, investment should ensue at Liverpool. Although FSG hopes they all do well, the Reds remain the jewel in the crown, set to benefit the most. More on that in a bit.

There is a reason FSG has zeroed in on Bordeaux. The Ligue 2 club—risking demotion to the third tier—has been in the doldrums, on its knees financially. But it has enjoyed historic success in France and boasts good local support, which helps its status. If FSG invests in Bordeaux’s facilities and academy, so it owns its assets and builds a squad on the rise, it can be a money-making entity again—a boost to FSG.

“The way FSG has always run its sports operations is they have always been financially independent, so sustainable in their own right,” Stephens adds, hinting at how this might function. Liverpool may forge links, but the teams won’t necessarily drain each other’s resources.



John Henry had headed Liverpool’s ownership for 14 [+]seasons.Getty Images

If Liverpool, Bordeaux, and possibly Boavista complement each other, the commercial benefits for each FSG-owned team are clear, too. “There are potential revenue synergies if you get a kit manufacturing deal across three or four clubs,” Maguire notes. “You’ve also got the cost synergies you get with diversification.”

Keeping Liverpool Competitive

By coming under a joined-up ownership structure, Liverpool overcomes a key hurdle: Brexit. Until now, due to regulations following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, Liverpool has not been able to draft the best under-18 players on the continent. You only need to look at Lamine Yamal’s performances for Barcelona and Spain to know how vital that is.

Soon, if the Bordeaux and Boavista acquisitions happen, Liverpool could have the best access to talents coming through these two clubs. There, they can get used to top-level European soccer, learning a playing style well-suited to the Merseyside club before moving to Liverpool when of age. It will be akin to having academies overseas. And those highly-skilled graduates who don’t quite make it can move on for a profit.

While it’s unclear how connected the clubs will be, MCO often means a streamlined operation, with each side having the same approach to scouting, sports science, and team culture. Having clubs with these philosophies in France and Portugal is also clever because each country attracts some of the best prospects from Africa and South America. They could end up at Liverpool.