Jeff Bezos Nears Landmark Liverpool Stake as FSG Reshapes Club
Jeff Bezos is on the verge of stepping into English football in a way few outsiders ever have – not as a broadcaster, not as a sponsor, but as a part-owner of Liverpool.
A consortium including the Amazon founder is close to finalising a deal to buy a 30% stake in the club from Fenway Sports Group (FSG), with the group expected to pay in the region of £1.35bn for almost a third of the Premier League side. The agreement is effectively in place after months of negotiations and could be completed within the next month.
Billionaire power group moves in
The investment team is led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and a familiar name in English football boardrooms after his previous spell as a shareholder at Queens Park Rangers. Alongside him sits Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, whose own fortune is estimated at $32bn.
Then comes Bezos. According to Forbes, the 62-year-old has a personal fortune of around $257bn (£190bn), making him the fourth-richest person in the world. This would be his first direct investment in football, though he has previously explored bids for NFL franchises in the United States. As part of the Liverpool deal, he will receive equity in the club, with Deloitte understood to be advising on the transaction.
For Liverpool, the numbers are stark. A 30% slice valued at around £1.35bn points to a total club valuation north of £4bn – a figure that underlines both the global reach of the Merseyside side and the continued inflation of elite football assets.
From streaming rights to a seat at the table
Bezos’s name has hovered on the fringes of football for years through Amazon’s push into live sports broadcasting. As executive chair of Amazon, having stepped down as chief executive five years ago, he has overseen the company’s evolution from online retailer to heavyweight entertainment player.
Amazon has already dipped into the Premier League, holding live UK rights for 20 games each season for six seasons until the end of last year. It also broadcasts the Champions League in several European territories and has long been a key partner of the NFL in the US.
Now, instead of simply buying the rights to show Liverpool, Bezos is poised to help shape what Liverpool are.
FSG’s next chapter at Anfield
FSG bought Liverpool in 2010 and have presided over a transformative period on and off the pitch. The club have returned to the summit of English and European football during their tenure, a spell that has included two Premier League titles and a modernisation of Anfield and the club’s commercial operation.
They have already shown a willingness to bring in external capital. In 2023, FSG sold a 3% stake to US private equity firm Dynasty Equity. This new deal, though, is on a different scale entirely – both in size and in the profile of the investors.
The move comes at a moment of upheaval. Anfield has felt like a club in transition this summer. Andoni Iraola has replaced Arne Slot as head coach. Mohamed Salah, the face of Liverpool’s modern resurgence, has departed on a free transfer and joined Trabzonspor. Michael Edwards has left his position as chief executive officer at FSG, removing another familiar pillar of the club’s recent structure.
Into that shifting landscape walks one of the most powerful business figures on the planet.
Liverpool’s future, written in new ink
For now, FSG remain the controlling owners. This is not a takeover. It is a recalibration – a significant injection of capital and influence from a consortium fronted by Bhatia, backed by Saverin and headlined by Bezos.
The implications will not be fully clear until the ink is dry and the new partners start to exercise their weight in strategic decisions, from infrastructure and global branding to the long-term sporting model.
FSG has been approached for comment.
