Jeff Bezos Joins Liverpool Ownership in £1.35bn Deal

Liverpool are on the brink of welcoming one of the world’s richest men into their ownership structure, with Jeff Bezos part of a heavyweight consortium closing in on a 30 per cent stake in the club.

After months of negotiations with Fenway Sports Group (FSG), a group of investors fronted by Amit Bhatia is nearing completion of a deal worth around £1.35 billion (€1.58 billion) for just under a third of the Premier League side. The agreement is effectively in place, though the final paperwork and regulatory steps could stretch the process out for up to a month.

Bhatia, son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, is no stranger to English football. He previously held a stake in Queens Park Rangers and served as vice-chairman at Loftus Road, experience that now underpins a far grander move into the elite tier of the game.

Alongside him sits Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and, most eye-catching of all, Bezos, the Amazon founder whose personal fortune is estimated by Forbes at around $257 billion (€223 billion). Saverin’s wealth is reported at $32 billion (€28 billion). This is not just another investment group; it is a gathering of financial heavyweights with the firepower to reshape a club’s commercial horizons.

For Bezos, 62, this will be his first direct venture into football ownership. He has previously explored bids for NFL franchises, and his Amazon empire has steadily pushed deeper into live sport, turning the company into a major broadcaster as well as a retailer. Deloitte is understood to have advised on the Liverpool deal, under which Bezos will receive equity as part of the investment package.

His presence taps into a wider strategy that has seen Amazon muscle into sports broadcasting. The company held live UK rights to 20 Premier League matches per season for six seasons until the end of last year, has secured Champions League coverage in several European markets, and shows NFL games in the United States. Now, one of the architects of that media revolution is moving from the rights table to the boardroom of one of football’s most storied clubs.

FSG’s tenure at Anfield, which began with their takeover in 2010, has already delivered a modern golden era, including two Premier League titles. The ownership group has not been averse to bringing in outside capital: in 2023, they sold a 3 per cent stake in Liverpool to US private equity firm Dynasty Equity. A 30 per cent sale, though, marks a far more significant shift in the club’s financial landscape.

It comes at a moment of upheaval on and off the pitch. This summer has seen Andoni Iraola installed as head coach in place of Arne Slot, a bold change in the technical area that signals a new direction in playing style and squad evolution. Mohamed Salah, one of the defining figures of the Klopp era and a global face of the club, departed on a free transfer and has since joined Trabzonspor, ending a glittering spell on Merseyside.

The executive structure has also been reshaped. Michael Edwards, long a key architect of Liverpool’s recruitment and strategic planning and more recently chief executive officer at FSG, has left his role, removing another familiar pillar of the club’s recent success.

Put together, the picture is clear: Liverpool are entering a new chapter, with fresh faces in the dugout, a global star gone, and now a looming injection of capital and influence from some of the most powerful figures in global tech and finance.

FSG has been approached for comment on the prospective deal. For now, Anfield waits to see how the arrival of Bezos and his fellow investors will tilt the balance of power in a Premier League already reshaped by sovereign wealth and private equity – and what it will mean for a club still chasing its next great era.