Every Liverpool fan will be wanting to know one thing at the moment – could Jeff Bezos end up buying a stake in the club?
Amazon founder and CEO Bezos is one of the richest men on the planet with a reported net worth of more than $250billion.
So, to have that financial power involved in the Reds could potentially take the Premier League giants to a never-before-seen level.
Bezos is said to be in talks with a consortium, which has been backed by the Mittal family, over joining their investor group.
Talks are ongoing between Liverpool and the consortium led by Amit Bhatia, who is the son-in-law of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.
The Reds’ owners, Fenway Sports Group, have also confirmed that they have been approached for a minority stake.
However, nothing is finalised at this stage, with Bhatia hiring advisers to work on an offer amid the negotiations.
Liverpool are expected to be valued at more than $6billion in any transaction, which is one of the highest valuations ever.
And potential investment from Bezos is sure to be one that excites Liverpool supporters – but could it actually happen?
Could Jeff Bezos buy Liverpool?
Football finance expert Stefan Borson says it isn’t surprising to hear such a name linked to one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“Well, I think it’s the natural follow-on from the top clubs becoming so valuable,” Borson told talkSPORT.
“If you have an asset that’s worth a total, like Manchester United, $5-6billion, there’s a very limited pool of buyers for assets of that scale.
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“It tends not to be a financial buyer because the cash flow of the football clubs can’t justify the financing of those deals.
“So, you tend to end up with sovereign wealth or nation states, plus a small selection of the very wealthiest billionaires, largely out of America, or in this case, out of India as well.
“It’s not a surprise. If you’re buying an asset, even if it’s a toy towards the end of your life, if you’re buying an asset for $6billion, you’ve got to be worth at least 20x that and worth over $100billion by its nature.”
Only going to get bigger
Peterborough United chairman Darragh McAnthony thinks Bezos’ potential involvement in Liverpool could just be the beginning.
And McAnthony theorised why FSG could be thinking about giving up a minority stake too, providing an owner’s view.
He told talkSPORT: “I think what happens is, you’ve got John Henry and co, who are getting a bit older, basically taking a few quid for themselves.
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“So a couple per cent of $6billion…$2-3billion maybe, they’re not giving up a majority stake, they will still control things.
“But maybe they need a bit of cash to use for other things, you don’t know.
“It’s the same in the States, Seattle has just been sold for nearly $10billion for an NFL franchise… if you look at franchise appreciation, these things are going through the roof.
“It won’t be long until Man United and Liverpool are $10-15bn in valuation.”
