Jeff Bezos Approached for Liverpool F.C. Stake as American Capital Deepens Its Hold on English Football

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been invited to join an investment consortium seeking a minority stake in Liverpool F.C., highlighting the unrelenting appetite among American mega-billionaires for top-tier European sports assets. The consortium, spearheaded by former Queens Park Rangers co-owner Amit Bhatia, is targeting a 30 percent holding valued at £1.35 billion ($1.8 billion).

If finalized, the transaction would value the six-time European champion at more than $6 billion. For Fenway Sports Group (FSG)—the sports management conglomerate led by commodities billionaire John Henry that also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox—the deal would deliver a billion-dollar windfall while preserving operational control. FSG, which bought Liverpool in 2010 for £300 million ($470 million), has been actively evaluating external investment since 2022.

For transatlantic investors, European soccer offers a compelling valuation discount when benchmarked against North American franchises. While the average National Football League franchise now commands valuations exceeding $7 billion—exemplified by Vinod Khosla’s $9.6 billion purchase of the Seattle Seahawks—Premier League powerhouses trade at a fraction of that cost despite possessing vast international audiences. The NFL generated an estimated $14.5 billion in cumulative revenue in 2024, yet its audience remains concentrated in North America, whereas English soccer commands unmatched international viewership across Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

However, the financial dynamics of European football carry distinct operational challenges. Unlike North American professional leagues that operate under closed systems with salary caps and shared profits, English football features open promotion and relegation alongside intense wage competition. During the 2024–2025 campaign, 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs posted financial losses, even as total league revenue reached a record £6.8 billion ($9.1 billion).

Liverpool stands as a rare exception to this widespread unprofitability. On the back of a Premier League title victory, the club generated a record £703 million in revenue during the 2024–2025 season—an £89 million year-over-year increase—yielding an after-tax profit of £8 million. The club’s commercial footprint in North America has expanded rapidly, supported by an estimated 26 million fans in the United States alone.

The potential involvement of Bezos, whose net worth stands at approximately $243 billion, would bring the world’s fourth-richest person into a league where 10 of the 20 clubs are already under American majority ownership. That structural shift began two decades ago when the Glazer family acquired Manchester United in 2005, followed by Randy Lerner at Aston Villa in 2006 and Stan Kroenke’s eventual takeover of Arsenal.

Liverpool itself fell under U.S. control in 2007 via Tom Hicks and George Gillett, before mounting debts forced a sale to FSG in 2010. The wave of American investment has expanded rapidly in recent years, with Shahid Khan buying Fulham in 2013, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquiring Chelsea in 2022, Bill Foley taking over Bournemouth that same year, and Dan Friedkin acquiring Everton in 2024.

“There’s a huge opportunity still,” Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan stated in an interview with BBC Sport, pointing to the club’s trajectory in overseas markets. “This is the biggest and most popular sport in the world and we’re one of the biggest clubs in the biggest league in the biggest sport in the world.”