Liverpool's New York Journey: Billion-Pound Questions Ahead

Liverpool have always known their numbers in America. More than 26 million supporters across the United States, by the club’s own count. So when the Reds landed in New York for pre-season, it was less a marketing exercise and more a reunion tour.

Billy Hogan, CEO of Liverpool and Fenway Sports Group, sits in Manhattan and talks about opportunity. But he does so against the backdrop of what he calls a “super difficult year” for the club “for lots of different reasons.” The setting is glamorous – Yankee Stadium, Wrexham under the lights, a 19:30 kick-off local time – yet the real drama is unfolding away from the pitch.

A New Investor at the Door

The headline off the field is clear. FSG, Liverpool’s owners since 2010, are deep in talks over a strategic minority investment. A consortium led by British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia has come forward, and the mood around the club suggests a deal is edging closer.

“John Henry and FSG have always said that if there was an interest in an investment that would help the football club, then they would consider it,” Hogan tells BBC Sport. “That was said many years ago and that remains the case here.

“At this point, I wouldn't say anything different to the statement that a consortium led, managed and represented by Amit Bhatia has come forward and expressed an interest in a minority investment.”

The numbers underline the scale of the move. According to the Financial Times, any agreement with Bhatia’s group would value Liverpool at more than £4.5bn. A club bought for £300m in 2010 now sits in the financial stratosphere.

Hogan is keen to stress one thing: this is not a soft exit. FSG, who also own the Boston Red Sox, are not slipping quietly out of the Anfield door.

“There's a huge opportunity still,” he says. “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. So that's a great place for us to be. The Premier League has a tremendous amount of momentum behind it.

“We’ve definitely not peaked. We're in a good place to continue to grow and that's why everyone across both sides of the club, football and business and whether they kick a ball or not, is focused on driving the club forward and winning trophies.”

Chasing Trophies, Counting Millions

Liverpool’s ambitions remain blunt and unapologetic.

“On the pitch, our goal every season is to win trophies. Off the pitch, our priority is to continue driving overall revenues and expand and build the club,” Hogan says.

The numbers back up his confidence. Liverpool sat fifth in the Deloitte Football Money League and generated the highest revenue in the Premier League at £702m. For Hogan, that is not a statistic to boast about in isolation. It is proof of a model.

“All of that investment, as has always been the case since 2010, goes back into the club. It's about running the club sustainably.”

The tension, of course, lies between spending and success. Last season Liverpool spent a record £450m in the summer. The return on the pitch was underwhelming. The cost was high.

Arne Slot paid with his job at the end of the campaign. Senior figures Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté all walked away on free transfers. For a club that prides itself on smart trading, that trio leaving for nothing stung.

The summer that followed has felt like a reset rather than a splurge.

Change in the Corridors of Power

The upheaval has not stopped at the dressing room door. Michael Edwards, long regarded as one of the sharpest operators in recruitment, has stepped down as FSG’s CEO of football after plans for a multi-club ownership model were shelved.

Sporting director Richard Hughes is being linked with a move to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. For supporters, the word “stability” no longer feels like a given.

Hogan does not flinch at the suggestion of flux.

“Transition and change is inevitable in football. In our case, with a new coach coming in, there's real excitement around Andoni's mindset and philosophy that supporters will really enjoy,” he says.

“That will take time but in terms of transition, I would send a message that we are in a very healthy place as a football club - the leadership from ownership is in a very steady place and we're looking forward to the next season and the season ahead.”

The recruitment strategy, he insists, remains intact. One big-spending summer does not rewrite the playbook; nor does one quiet one.

“It's important to keep in mind that last season, a considerable amount was invested but also generated in terms of sales of players going out,” Hogan says. “Over the course of FSG's stewardship, the investment has always been focused on doing what's best to put us in a place to win.

“Sometimes that means significant expense and other times it doesn't like in the summer of 2024 when there was only one addition (Federico Chiesa for £12.5m). It depends on where we are at the club and the improvements needed. Ultimately Mike Gordon, who is really our managing owner, will make those decisions.”

One signing. One of Europe’s most valuable clubs. It is a statement of faith in the existing squad, but also a test of the model’s resilience.

The Women’s Team Steps Back Into Focus

Not every part of Liverpool’s operation has been so carefully managed. Hogan is candid about one area where the club fell behind.

Liverpool’s women’s team finished 11th in the WSL last season and have not won the top-flight title since 2014. For a club that talks about global growth, that gap has become harder to justify.

“To be self-critical, that is probably an area that we maybe took our eye off the ball several years ago but we've changed that,” Hogan admits.

“We now have one of the best training centres at AXA Melwood, we are investing in the squad and we will approach the women's team the same way we approach the men's team - which is to run it sustainably. There's tremendous growth in the women's game and a huge opportunity going forward to really drive that.”

If the men’s side is a global juggernaut, the women’s project is still in its build phase. The infrastructure is now in place; the pressure will be on results to follow.

From the Brink to a Billion-Pound Machine

To understand FSG’s confidence, you have to go back to 2010. Liverpool were teetering on the edge of administration. The club’s future, never mind its competitive status, was in doubt.

“It is still remarkable to think now that the club was on the verge of administration when FSG took over,” Hogan reflects.

The journey since then has not been smooth. This year alone, Hogan wrote to supporters to explain ticket price increases, only for the club to scale back planned rises after fan protests. The relationship between ownership and supporters at Liverpool is never simple, rarely quiet.

Yet the transformation of Anfield is undeniable. Two of the four stands have been redeveloped in the last decade, turning the old ground into a modern arena without stripping away its identity.

“Back when FSG acquired LFC, a number of similarities were drawn with Boston Red Sox and Liverpool and one of them was this idea of an iconic venue that truly sits in the community,” Hogan says.

“One of the things we're focused on now is making improvements in the footprint around Anfield the neighbourhood whether that's infrastructure or transport and getting people in on non-match days. We're proud of how we've expanded while keeping the soul but also modernising it in the way that's befitting of the football club.”

That balance – heritage and progress – sits at the heart of FSG’s story. Hogan takes more pride in the foundations than the fireworks.

“Football doesn't give you much time to sit back and reflect. What I would say I am most proud of is that the club is in such a positive and good financial position. If you go back to that point in 2010, the club was literally on the brink of bankruptcy. Now it has the right foundations underneath it. There's improvements across the infrastructure, the ability to stay at Anfield for the long-term and the stuff that doesn't always get headlines but are super important for the health of the club.”

Trophies, though, remain the currency that matters most.

“Ultimately, it's about winning trophies and I wish we could win more but we've been fortunate to win a few,” Hogan says.

“I think our supporters have had a great time and I often think about the fan parks at the Champions League finals - we lost a couple but just that joy and the memories and frankly the fun of it is what I look back from time to time. And it's something that everyone associated with Liverpool should be proud of because it happens together and we all want this club to be the best in the world.”

New York, New Era?

So Liverpool find themselves in New York, a club that has never been richer, never more valuable, and yet fresh from a year Hogan openly labels “super difficult.”

A minority investor may soon come on board. A new coach, Andoni Iraola, is trying to imprint his ideas. Key figures have gone, on and off the pitch. The women’s team is being rebuilt. The stadium is evolving. The fanbase in America is booming.

The question now is simple and unforgiving: with all that money, all that infrastructure, and all that global reach, can Liverpool turn a hard year into the start of something bigger, or will this be remembered as the moment the project reached its ceiling?