Jeff Bezos, the founder of online shopping giant Amazon, has reportedly been approached by a consortium over a proposed investment in Liverpool Football Club.
This follows a report from the Financial Times on Tuesday that a consortium of investors led by Amit Bhatia and backed by the family of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is in talks to buy a significant minority stake in LFC in a proposed deal which would value the club at more than $6bn (£4.48bn).
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Mark Kleinman reported for Sky News that Bezos has held discussions about joining a syndicate of investors led by Bhatia, who relinquished control of his stake in Queens Park Rangers this week to pave the way for prospective investment in Liverpool.
A source has indicated that the Amazon founder is ‘not certain to proceed’ with any investment in LFC, and that if he were to do so, it would ‘represent a surprise move’.
A spokesperson for current Liverpool owners FSG has said: “An investment consortium led, managed, and represented by Amit Bhatia, has expressed interest in making a strategic minority investment in Liverpool Football Club”, with Sky News specifying that the group could purchase up to 30% of the club.
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Bezos is is estimated by Forbes magazine to own a fortune worth approximately $257bn (£192bn), making him the world’s fourth-richest man (Sky News). For context, that’s almost 43 times the expected valuation of LFC.
It lays bare the magnitude of riches which could become available to Liverpool if the Amazon founder were to join the Bhatia-led consortium in potentially investing in the Merseyside club, and the possibilities that could open up in terms of the squad on the pitch and the infrastructure off it.
However, football fans in this country care deeply about the profile of person investing in their clubs, irrespective of how much wealth they may boast. That is particularly true of Reds supporters, who place tremendous pride in core values and beliefs and do not appreciate those being ignored.
Many LFC fans would likely have been horrified to see Bezos congratulating Donald Trump on his re-election as President of the USA and donating $1m (just under £750,000) to the latter’s inauguration in January 2025 (Axios).
It should be remembered, though, that the entrepreneur has simply been approached about a possible investment in the Merseyside club, and it’s entirely plausible that nothing will ultimately come of it.
FSG have made missteps during their 16-year stewardship at Anfield, of course, but the club has evolved massively on and off the pitch in that time as well, and the mantra of ‘better the devil you know than the one you don’t’ seems pertinent in this instance.
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What a horrible idea. Money to do what? Buy success? No.
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