The Times’ Paul Joyce reports that owners Fenway Sports Group have sold 10% of the club to a private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners worth £543 million.
While Liverpool fans aren’t crazy about the way FSG has handled certain issues in the past, with ticket increases and furloughing staff chief among these issues, there can be no denying that they have turned the club around.
Since buying the club in 2010, the Americans have dealt with their debt and helped get them back to winning the biggest trophies in world football.
MADRID, SPAIN – JUNE 01: Liverpool owner John Henry hugs Liverpool Head Coach / Manager Jurgen Klopp at the end of the UEFA Champions League Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on June 1, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. PHOTO BY ROBBIE JAY BARRATT – AMA/GETTY IMAGES.
You could argue that the recent success has more to do with Jurgen Klopp’s exceptional man-management skills and coaching but hiring Michael Edwards to help give the German the players he needs is among their best moves.
And now, after “borrowing against itself, rather than placing it on Liverpool”, Paul Joyce writes that FSG has sold 10% of the club to RedBird Capital Partners to help deal with financial losses due to the pandemic.
What this FSG masterstroke means for Liverpool’s transfer plans
The Reds have reportedly lost an estimated £120 million due to the coronavirus pandemic that has blighted the world over the last year.
This cash injection does not mean that Klopp will be handed a huge transfer kitty but it does mean that they will be able to operate in the transfer window as if the last 12 months never happened.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JUNE 24: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp looks on prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace at Anfield on June 24, 2020 in Liverpool, England. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY SHAUN BOTTERILL/GETTY IMAGES.
If Liverpool find an opportunity in the transfer market that is simply too good to pass up on, they will be able to pounce on it whereas before they may have had to hold back and count their pennies.
This is huge news because the Reds need to do everything they can to claw their way back to the top of English football next season after an injury-blighted campaign ruined their chances of defending their first-ever Premier League campaign.
The Anfield outfit has 9 league games remaining to secure top four and boost their chances of signing their first-choice transfer targets.
