Liverpool’s transformation under the Fenway Sports Group is the model for European football to follow as America tries to teach European football.
That’s according to RedBird CEO Gerry Cardinale, owner of AC Milan, [via Milan News 24](https://www.milannews24.com/cardinale-milan-sport-usa-europa-liverpool/), who believes Liverpool are the perfect example of how a club can be transformed.
FSG bought into Liverpool in October 2010, saving the club from administration after the disastrous ownership of George Gillet and Tom Hicks.
They’ve transformed Liverpool over the 15 years since, turning them into a club that sit fourth on Forbes list as of May 2024, only trailing Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona in terms of their value, which was believed to be $5.37bn.
Reports at the beginning of 2025 had them at the seventh highest revenue generating club in world football, bringing in $719m according to the latest accounts.
That total put them fourth in terms of ‘money makers’ in England, trailing Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal but ahead of the likes of Tottenham and Chelsea. Only £2m separated them from the Gunners.
It’s been a major turnaround, helped by the continued expansion of Anfield and success on the pitch under Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot.
Few investments turn out as well as FSG’s has and Cardinale believes that deserves recognition, believing they are the model to follow.
“We can help Europeans become more effective in generating more capital to reinvest again so as to be more competitive,” he is quoted saying at the 19th annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
“There is a great example of how there has been an evolution in this sense too and that is Liverpool. The reason I invested in Fenway Sports Group, and it’s the only time I’ve been a minority shareholder in a sports-related investment, is because I have so much respect for this ownership and management and what they’ve done with Liverpool.
“People should take note of the transition they’ve gone through, so they don’t miss a step on how they started with Klopp and now they’ve gotten to Slot and made it work the way they did.
“They’ve managed to find a compromise between the sports side, the business side and the ownership side. And that’s what you should look at and try to replicate elsewhere.”