Liverpool's ownership structure could be set for a huge change in the near future, as a consortium led by Amit Bhatia is in talks to purchase a significant minority stake in the club
Luke Thrower Trends Writer
16:23, 22 Jul 2026Updated 16:23, 22 Jul 2026
Tom Werner, Chairman of Liverpool, Michael Gordon, President of Fenway Sports Group and John Henry, Principle Owner of Liverpool and his wife Linda Pizzuti Henry pose for a photograph with the Premier League trophy, as Liverpool are crowned the Champions of the Premier League for the 2024/25 Season, following the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace FC
FSG is open to selling a stake in Liverpool as talks continue over a 30 percent sale(Image: (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images))
Fenway Sports Group could be set to cash-in on their investment of Liverpool, as talks are ongoing over the sale of a significant minority stake in the Merseyside club.
It comes after 15 years of association as owners, with FSG agreeing to buy the Reds in October 2010 from Hicks and Gillett in a period of the club's history that was particularly rocky.
In the years since, the American sports investment conglomerate has faced a mixture of criticism and praise, as Liverpool went from underachievers to leaders on the world soccer stage, following a process of transforming the processes off the pitch that reflected in performances on it.
Under Jurgen Klopp, FSG oversaw its best years as owners, while there has been some success since under Arne Slot as well as a lot of uncertainty that has followed.
Following reports and a statement from FSG revealing the talks to sell the significant minority stake, there have been questions about the decision and the timing in particular.
Liverpool.com spoke to football finance expert Adam Williams, who explained exactly why the American owners may be considering a sale of the stake, but not the whole club yet.
FSG is in talks to sell a significant minority share in Liverpool
FSG is in talks to sell a significant minority share in Liverpool(Image: (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League))
He said: "We're really asking two questions here: One, why do FSG want to divest, and two, why now? In terms of why FSG would be interested in selling a large minority stake, I think it's pretty simple: they want to realize some of the value of their investment.
"To date, they have invested the initial £300 million ($401.5 million) purchase price, plus another £300 million ($401.5 million) or so in share capital and loans. They have barely taken any money out of the club — a few loan repayments and management fees over the years total around £40 million ($53.5 million). So they are about £550 million ($736.2 million) deep into the investment all told, plus they have dedicated countless man-hours to the project.
"If they sell 30 percent at a $6bn valuation, they have suddenly got a profit of £800 million ($1.1 billion) or so. They can pay that out as dividends or reinvest it. Remember, there are about 40 partners in FSG, all of whom want returns on their investment. So the logic of why they might want to divest is relatively straightforward."
The consortium of investors is headed up by Amit Bhatia, a British-Indian businessman and investor, who has the backing of the Mittal family, which is run by Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian steel magnate billionaire. Bhatia and Mittal had been co-owners at Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship, joining the club in 2008 before transferring ownership to majority owner Ruben Gnanalingam earlier this week.
This was done with the talks over Liverpool in mind, to stop there being a conflict of interest and to allow for the process to move forward smoothly. A deal isn't done yet, though a 30 percent stake is being eyed at a valuation that would put the Reds at being worth $6 billion in the market, around a similar figure that Manchester United was quoted at with Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment.
With that offer being in the billions, Bhatia's consortium could be joined by Jeff Bezos, after reports claimed that talks had been held with the Amazon founder over a place in the investment fund. Having the fourth-richest man in the world being part of the group would be quite the boost, though FSG's reason for divesting now may come as a warning to all of those looking to invest.
Jeff Bezos has been approached to invest in Liverpool
Jeff Bezos has been approached to invest in Liverpool(Image: Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Williams continued: "The more interesting question is, why sell that stake now? Here, we've got to zoom out and look at the wider context. And honestly, this is a topic you could write a PhD thesis on.
"There have been whispers in the sports finance business for some time that FSG is looking to exit team sport altogether, they have certainly flirted with selling Liverpool outright in the past, as we know. In the last year or so, with the end of the multi-club pursuit and so on, those whispers have grown louder. They recently sold the Pittsburgh Penguins, too.
"We can talk about all sorts of macro reasons as to why this might be the case — market saturation, cost of capital, slowing media rights growth, changing audience behaviors, and so on. But with Liverpool, we don't really have to get too technical about why you might want to get out.
"When you're valuing a business, you're looking primarily at future cash flows. That's business-speak for how much money the company makes day-to-day, its profits or its losses. Let's go back to what I was saying at the start here: Liverpool don't make consistent profits. In fact, FSG have barely made a penny out of them.
"And yes, buying Liverpool was always a capital appreciation play for FSG, AKA buy low, sell high. But at some point in the chain of buying and selling, a $6 billion company simply has to start making real money day-to-day. And neither Liverpool nor any other English club is anywhere near doing that.
"Why? Because you have clubs in the transfer and wage markets who are actively inflating them, which means everyone else has to increase spending to compete. We're stuck in an inflationary spiral in which everyone spends more than they earn.
"Until football sorts itself out in that department, buying into a club at a $6 billion valuation is a gamble, not an investment. You're gambling on football being able to come together to introduce a hard cap on spending. And culturally, we're so far away from that moment."
It comes as a clear warning to investors looking to make money out of the club, something that FSG hasn't been able to do so far in its time in charge.
"After trying to rewire the game's finances with the Super League and Project Big Picture, I think FSG probably now feel that Liverpool as an asset are overpriced," Williams added. "And if you don't realize some of the value of that investment now, you risk the bubble bursting. There are people within their own organization who have been explicit about thinking team valuations are a bubble — Gerry Cardinale at RedBird, for one.
"If football had a hard salary or transfer cap or any sort of cost discipline, $6 billion would be an incredible bargain. Even $25 billion would be a bargain because of the scalability and IP that a brand like Liverpool has. But as long as you continue to operate in an illogical regulatory environment, I just don't see how you can justify these valuations long term."
For Liverpool, it comes as yet another potential change at a time when fans have become used to seeing the constant switches at all levels of the club. Changes in head coach and coaching teams have happened, followed by a large turnover of players in the past few years, which has underlined the state of flux the club is in.
Follow that with the changes at board level, with Michael Edwards recently leaving following the collapse of the multi-club model, and the expected exit of Richard Hughes as sporting director in the next year, and it all culminates in a place where transition isn't smooth.
FSG's potential sale of a stake adds yet more parties with their own vested interest into the club's investment structure, though the owners won't be leaving in total. There is still a sense that club valuations could still rise in years to come, which may be why the American sports conglomerate is only selling a large chunk of its stakes, and not the majority.
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It allows them to take some money up front, while still gambling on that potential increase in value in the future. It remains to be seen whether that will come or if the warnings of a potential financial bubble bursting will happen.