The single decision Jeff Bezos made in 2021 that cleared the way for him to buy Liverpool
Jeff Bezos is joining up with Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Amit Bhatia in a consortium seeking to buy a 30% minority stake in Liverpool F.C. from owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG), yet some questioned whether Amazon's previous dealings with the Premier League could jeopardize the sale.
Bezos is, after all, the co-founder of Amazon and led it from a bookstore in his garage to the world's leading shopping giant, yet he thankfully made the key decision back in 2021 to relinquish his role and this now likely allows him to buy a stake in England's most successful football club.
The deal is yet to officially go through, but it appears all but certain that Jeff Bezos, among others, will be part of a deal that looks to be worth around $1.8 billion, valuing the club at roughly $6 billion and marking the first significant ceding of ownership since FSG took over the club back in 2010.
Why Bezos' Amazon links won't jeopardize a sale
As reported by the Mirror, Bezos' connections to Amazon don't appear to be a roadblock for the prospective purchase of Liverpool for two reasons, as not only does the Premier League no longer have a direct broadcasting relationship with the company, but Bezos also relinquished day-to-day control back in 2021.
Amazon had previously secured a short-term TV deal worth around £30 million ($40.5 million) per season to show 20 Premier League games – with the vast majority falling around the Christmas period – yet this ended last year after the packages were adjusted by the league.
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Now, the only games that Amazon shows through Prime Video are in overseas markets and are brokered in sub-licencing deals with Viaplay in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, meaning that there's no conflict of interest for the league itself.
Even if this was the case, however, Bezos' decision to step away from a day-to-day role at Amazon, now serving merely as executive chairman, would have still made him eligible for involvement in the sale — although the addition of Saverin and Bhatia, with the latter previously chairman at QPR until 2023, could boost the credentials of the sale.
Although nothing has been confirmed, it's likely that Bhatia would be the figure most involved in the footballing side of things if the sale granted new investments a say in the direction of the club, with Bezos benefitting in a more passive role from the financial success and growth of Liverpool in the years to come.
What does this mean for Liverpool going forward?
It's undeniable quite how much the financial and footballing statue of Liverpool has grown since FSG took ownership 16 years ago, with the club securing two Premier League titles, a Champions League victory, and numerous other trophies along the way.
While this sale is likely to settle at only 30%, with FSG still holding majority control over the club, it has led some to wonder whether the Boston-based owners are looking to cash out on their initial £300 million ($405 million) purchase after it has now grown by around 1,400%.
Contrastingly, it could also be a sign of FSG cashing in as a means of providing further outside investment and cementing Liverpool's already-impressive financial health — although that doesn't suddenly mean that the club will have loads of money to spend.
While Bezos is the third richest man on the planet with a net worth of $272.4 billion – enough to smash the world transfer record over a thousand times – it's not like Liverpool will have access to all that money, and the Premier League's Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rules limit spending to 85% of the club's football-related revenue.
Liverpool might end up with a new Amazon-themed front-of-shirt sponsorship considering the current deal with Standard Chartered is set to expire at the end of the forthcoming season, and perhaps even get a few behind-the-scenes documentaries on Amazon Prime, but don't expect any major changes just yet despite Bezos' stature.