The £100m reason why FSG broke multi-club ownership promise

Last week it was dramatically revealed that Fenway Sports Group had ended its quest to set up a multi-club ownership model.

Liverpool’s owners have been mulling over the purchase of a second club for the last couple of years - ever since Michael Edwards returned to the FSG fold as CEO of Football.

Clubs were looked at in France and Spain - with deals at one stage close for Toulouse and Getafe. But frustratingly for Edwards Liverpool remains the only football club in FSG’s portfolio.

The ramifications could be profound with Edwards now tipped to leave the organisation. One key factor in his return to FSG was the implementation of a multi-club ownership model.

Without it he was reported to fear Liverpool falling behind domestic and European rivals including Manchester City and Chelsea.

Liverpool learned Crystal Palace lesson

It’s been speculated as to why FSG pulled the plug on buying a second club.

Maybe they are preparing for an exit from Liverpool? Maybe they are just too slow to get deals over the line? Maybe they didn’t see value in the market?

Another reason has now been suggested by the FootBiz newsletter.

Last season Crystal Palace won the FA Cup - thereby earning passage to the UEFA Europa League for the 2025/26 season. But their fellow multi-club ownership stablemate Lyon also qualified for the Europa League.

Palace were rejected and Lyon got the spot instead owing to their higher league finish. The Eagles appealed the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport - but were unsuccessful and demoted to the UEFA Europa Conference League.

And now the report suggests that having seen this occur FSG were not willing to take a risk on Liverpool’s finances.

Liverpool set to top £100m from Champions League this season

The Boston-based owners could not face seeing Liverpool qualify for the lucrative Champions League only to see the money snatched away because a sister club also qualified elsewhere.

“The Reds simply could not risk missing out on Champions League football and its gargantuan revenues because their feeder club had snuck into third in Ligue 1 or La Liga and been referred to UEFA or the Court of Arbitration for Sport by angry rivals,” the report reads.

The made the prospect of owning several European clubs “a lot less appealing” according to the report.

For reaching the quarter-finals of this year’s edition of the Champions League it’s been estimated that Liverpool have already earned around £94.13m - more than any team other than Bayern Munich.

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