With Manchester United still under the stranglehold of Glazer ownership, news that Fenway Sports Group have put Liverpool up for sale could be good news for Red Devils fans.
Liverpool’s listing was met with a degree of shock in the sporting world, as the Merseyside club have enjoyed a fair amount of success since FSG’s takeover back in 2010.
The club won their first ever Premier League title and made it to several European finals, winning the Champions League on one occasion.
However, despite global support for Liverpool as a result of those successes, FSG no longer see the club as a profitable venture.
In part, that is due to the challenges of competing with state-backed clubs like Manchester City, for whom success is rarely less than a couple of signatures away.
But the key factor in FSG’s decision to step away from Liverpool is the failure of the European Super League, according to The Times.
Officials at the club spoke of “medium-term consequences” in the wake of the project’s collapse and it seems now that those consequences are taking place.
The Super League would have locked in revenues for its founder clubs, enabling them to rake in broadcasting cash for a premium competition without ever being under threat of relegation or diminished importance.
This was naturally an attractive proposition for club owner, in particular those with an American background.
USA Sports typically follow a similar structure to the plans proposed under the European Super League and, for FSG, the potential for such a structure was a big selling point when they bought Liverpool.
It is a similar story for Manchester United, whose American owners were right alongside those of Liverpool in spearheading the Super League shake-up last year.
The Glazers stood to make a fortune off the back of the project and have been evasive on the topic since last April, despite assurances that they would improve their communications with fans.
While United have been a reliable cash cow for them over the years, the fact that the potential for a Super League has been quashed will no doubt have irked the Glazers.
Reported interest from the likes of Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already set imaginations running and insiders have claimed that the Tampa Bay family has held meetings to discuss share sales, with a 30% stake offered to the Saudi Arabian wealth fund shortly before Newcastle United’s takeover.
It seems that the Glazer family no longer view Man United as an indispensable asset and are willing to part with the club under the right circumstances.
FSG’s impending sale of Liverpool might just pave the way for the Red Devils to finally be free of the Glazers.
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