Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's involvement in a consortium attempting to take a 30% stake in Liverpool could lead to the acceleration of revenues created at Anfield, according to a football finance expert.
Professor Rob Wilson believes the Amit Bhatia-led group, which is closing in on a potential deal worth £1.4 billion with Fenway Sports Group (FSG), can be the catalyst for the American owners to gradually step away after 16 years in charge at Liverpool.
Consortium details
Mr Bhatia, who stepped down as a director of Queens Park Rangers after nearly 20 years of involvement last month, is leading the consortium in talks with FSG over a stake believed to be around a third in Liverpool. The group also contains Bezos, listed as the third richest man in the world by Forbes with a net worth of around £207bn, and Eduardo Saverin, one of the co-founders of Facebook worth a reported £24bn.
It's understood an agreement is close with the consortium and FSG, who have always been open to minority investment in Liverpool. However, the advent of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) means clubs are no longer simply allowed to spend the personal fortune of their owners. Clubs are only permitted to lose £105m over the previous three seasons.
Commercial impact
Liverpool, whose most recent recorded revenues broke the £700m barrier for the first time in January, would have to build up their figures through various commercial avenues. Professor Wilson, who has a reputation as one of the leading authorities on the business and finance of sport, thinks Bezos's involvement could open significant doors for the club very quickly.
"Will Jeff Bezos make Liverpool the richest club in the world? In truth, not overnight," Wilson, the Dean at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB), says. "Bezos's personal fortune doesn't suddenly become Liverpool's transfer budget, and the investment itself doesn't mean Liverpool can simply go and spend another £500 million. The regulations sort that side of the equation out.
"The really interesting part is what his involvement could do to Liverpool's commercial ceiling. They're already one of football's biggest brands, and an investor of this scale could accelerate sponsorship, retail, digital and particularly US revenues."
"That's where the FFP (Financial Fair Play) or PSR benefit comes in as sustainable new revenue creates sustainable new spending power. In that sense Bezos can't simply buy Liverpool the Premier League title but he could help build the commercial machine that allows them to spend like never before. It will take a few years to build that though."
Liverpool have always been able to spend big when they believe the player is right, but the true superstars require enormous transfer fees, wages, bonuses and image-rights packages all while competing with Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and others. "Bezos doesn't personally start paying those wages, but if his involvement helps Liverpool grow revenues significantly, those deals become easier to sustain within the financial rules."
Future prospects
"The goal, I think, for Bezos is to make Liverpool commercially powerful enough that when the next (Kylian) Mbappe or (Jude) Bellingham comes along, they never have to leave the table because of money," Wilson added. "You'd also assume that they buy well in between and compete effectively to build the status of the club so it's even more attractive to those players."
On suggestions that confirmation of the deal could mark the beginning of the end of FSG as Liverpool owners, Professor Wilson, speaking to Compare.bet, adds: "Bezos understands American consumers, technology, distribution and scale about as well as anybody on the planet.
"Obviously that doesn't mean Liverpool suddenly gets to use Amazon's infrastructure or customer database (although I'm sure that won't be too hard to sort out), but having someone with that experience and network around the ownership table could open some extraordinary commercial conversations."
"That's where we find the most valuable thing that Bezos might bring to Liverpool: his address book and network. This is where the investment is much more about turning Liverpool from an enormous football club into an even bigger global entertainment and consumer brand, as opposed to simply trying to sign new players."
"If this goes through, it's probably the beginning of the end for FSG. They'll sell the lot, ultimately, and this is where his involvement makes the most strategic sense."
Liverpool supporters union Spirit of Shankly have written to the club seeking clarity on a number of issues regarding the potential buy-in from Bhatia's group.
