FSG principal owner John Henry. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)FSG principal owner John Henry. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FSG principal owner John Henry. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Fenway Sports Group’s principal owner John Henry recently showed his influence at the Boston Red Sox and could do with Liverpool.
It would be an almighty statement if Liverpool can get the deal over the line.
There have been a few in the Reds’ recent history. Splashing out £75 million for Virgil van Dijk and paying £67 million for Alisson Becker were signals of intent, with the pair helping transform Liverpool back to Europe’s elite.
And if the Reds can coax Florian Wirtz to Anfield then if will make every team in the Premier League and across the continent sit up and take note. It’s not like the Premier League champions aren’t already among the clubs dining at the very top table. But it they sign one of the best young talents around then everyone will know how serious owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are about Arne Slot’s side’s ambitions for the coming years.
It has been thought that Bayern Munich would be Wirtz’s destination of choice. Hailing from Germany, reports for several months suggested the playmaker would join the dominant force in his homeland. But Liverpool are bang in the race to recruit Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. Unlike Manchester City, they are not baulking at the £126 million fee that it would cost to recruit the 22-year-old.
If true, it appears that FSG principal owner John Henry wants to learn the finer details of the potential deal. In fairness, he can’t be blamed. Given that Liverpool could smash their transfer record by £40 million, Henry will want to know exactly where his company’s money will be going.
Henry was at Anfield to watch Liverpool claim the Premier League title last month. That might have whetted his appetite for more success, with nine major trophies won since FSG purchased the club in 2010.
And at the Boston Red Sox, Henry has also been using his influence to good use. The iconic MLB side are hoping to have a much-improved 2025 season after missing out on the play-offs in the past three years. Rafael Devers is the star player at Fenway Park, with his 10-year contract signed in January 2023 worth $331 million.
A recent season-ending injury suffered by Triston Casas meant that Devers was asked to move from third to first base - which is publicly rebuked. As a result, Henry stepped in to defuse the situation. He flew to Kansas City, along with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and CEO Sam Kennedy to speak to Devers ahead of the Red Sox playing three matches against the Royals.
Henry, however, was the only person who conversed Devers during the meeting. Breslow via The Athletic: “John, Sam and I flew out earlier today, it was actually John who spoke directly with Raffy. We felt like it was important, based on the situation that unfolded yesterday, to come out here and have an honest conversation about what we value as an organization and what we believe is important to the Boston Red Sox and that is being great teammates for each other. And so we think we had a productive conversation. John seems to have had a productive conversation. And that’s where things stand right now.
“I think based on how things very publicly unfolded yesterday, there was an opportunity to address this and reinforce what we think is important, what has been important to this ownership group, what’s important to the players, staff and the front office, We were able to do that and obviously Raffy is a really big and important part of this team. I think it’s important that these things get addressed head-on.”
Interestingly, Henry flew to the Dominican Republic in 2023 to wrap up the deal to tie down Devers. And if it is correct that Edwards has flown Stateside, then Henry could play another big role in a record deal on the another side of the Atlantic.
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