Liverpool’s takeover promise was an empty promise – FSG’s true intentions are now clear

When it emerged in early November that Liverpool FC had been put up for sale, Fenway Sports Group promised to continue running the club as usual.

Sadly, just three months later, it feels like an empty promise from a group of owners whose focus seems to have shifted entirely to delivering a solid return on investment.

FSG’s true feelings were underscored by a January window in which Jurgen Klopp was only allowed to address one of his team’s two glaring weaknesses as new funds would not be made available. before the next exercise.

It’s debatable whether the German was wise to choose Cody Gakpo over a central midfielder given these limitations, but the fact that he had to choose says a lot about the club’s position.

Liverpool are not about to breach Financial Fair Play rules and remain in a state of poor financial health. Therefore, keeping the books thin can only be the desire of their owners to attract direct buyers who limit spending. It still seems that FSG’s preferred outcome at this early stage would be an outright sale, although it is claimed that they tend to simply give up a minority stake.

Because the appeal of the latter option is difficult for outside investors to understand, when Chairman Mike Gordon would not have resigned so suddenly from his day-to-day duties for such a small structural change.

Clues to FSG’s true intentions can also be found in the club’s most recent accounts, which appear to show priority being given to paying off debts rather than providing transfer money.

If this were a long-term committed ownership group, this wouldn’t be happening and this reality only goes to show how critically important it is that Liverpool’s future is resolved as soon as possible.

The Reds clearly don’t need new owners willing to ease summer spending at the Chelsea, the potential downsides of which have been little discussed in recent coverage. Nor do they need a wealthy benefactor to pump money through dubious sponsorship deals to get around FFP and boost their transfer fees.

Rather, Liverpool just need to shrug off the burden of infrastructure project costs inexplicably paid through short-term debt, as well as the current owners’ desire to keep operating debt to a minimum.

These ongoing spending restrictions are why fans may be skeptical that if FSG stays in charge this summer, Klopp won’t get the rebuild he needs.

Rather, Liverpool just need to shrug off the burden of infrastructure project costs inexplicably paid through short-term debt, as well as the current owners’ desire to keep operating debt to a minimum.

These continued spending restrictions are why fans may be skeptical that if FSG stays in charge this summer, Klopp won’t get the rebuild he needs. It’s a precarious situation that perfectly illustrates how difficult it is to keep the current off-field question marks from leading to on-field consequences for Klopp and his team.

Fortunately, hope remains that much-needed certainty will arrive before the summer, especially with exploratory talks currently underway with investors from Qatar, Germany, the United States and Saudi Arabia interested in a buyout.

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