Liverpool CEO says transfer spree should quell ownership gossip
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Billy Hogan said he expects the broadcast rights of English football to shift ever closer to the more commercially lucrative video-streaming platforms.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Follow topic:
LONDON – Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group remains committed to the team long term, the club’s chief executive Billy Hogan said, adding the multi-million pound spending spree over the summer should put speculation about its future ownership to bed.
“There is absolute commitment from ownership,” Hogan said in an interview with Bloomberg.
He noted that John Henry, who leads Fenway Sports, has said the group has been acquiring more teams and properties “than we are selling and exiting”.
In 2023, Fenway Sports sold a minority stake in Liverpool to New York-based private equity firm Dynasty Equity in exchange for up to US$200 million (S$256.3 million) of fresh investment. Speculation around suitors over the years has ranged from Qatar to the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
But in August, the Reds will commence their defence of the English Premier League after spending big on a series of players this summer, including a reported £116 million (S$200 million) for German attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and £79 million for French striker Hugo Ekitike.
The club will be hoping their on-field success can translate into further commercial gains.
The 20-time winners of England’s top-flight football championship will wear a new playing kit at the start of August after signing a lucrative deal with Adidas, reported to be worth around £60 million a year.
Hogan said the kit deal will be a 10-year partnership. The German sportswear giant joins top commercial partners including Standard Chartered, Japan Airlines and insurer AXA.
Liverpool are also set to open their 20th dedicated football store, in Hong Kong, and are mulling one in Japan.
Hogan took the reins of Liverpool in 2020 after being parachuted in from Fenway Sports, which also owns the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Penguins. Founded in 2001 by Henry and Tom Werner, it bought Liverpool FC for £300 million in 2010. The club were valued at £5 billion in 2024, before clinching their 20th league title.
Hogan also said he expects the broadcast rights of English football, which is controlled by the game’s regulator, the Premier League, to shift ever closer to the more commercially lucrative video-streaming platforms.
“We’re in an evolving media market, clearly,” said Hogan.
Deep-pocketed players like Netflix, Amazon Prime or sports-focused Dazn would be the likeliest candidates to cash in on the global popularity of English football.
The Len Blavatnik-owned Dazn spent US$1 billion for the exclusive rights to the controversial Club World Cup recently. Netflix has also grown increasingly fond of sports-based content, as evidenced by the hit documentary Formula 1: Drive To Survive. BLOOMBERG
