Liverpool opt to join multi-club model
03/30/2025 06:25 AM
Globalisation may be disappearing in other spheres of economic activity as protectionist barries are raised, but the spread of the multi-club model suggests that it is alive and well in football (soccer). Liverpool are the latest club to jump on board.
Ever since the appointment of Michael Edwards as chief
executive of football at Fenway Sports Group (FSG) in March 2024, it has been
clear the multi-club ownership model is coming to Anfield.
Edwards, Liverpool's former sporting director, returned to
the FSG fold with the belief that the club has little choice but to expand if
it is to "remain competitive" in the Premier League and beyond. The key to that
is an ambitious plan to invest in a partner club.
FSG's multi-club plans mean falling in line with the Premier
League crowd, effectively. Well over half of the 20 teams in the English top
flight now have relationships with at least one other European club and the
pattern has been extended in the past two years.
Liverpool had previously resisted the trend set by Manchester
City's ownership, who have amassed 13 teams around the globe under the City
Football Group (CFG) banner — including Girona in Spain, Palermo in Italy
and New York City in the U.S. – but there is an acceptance that the advantages
of a multi-club model cannot be overlooked.
On Saturday, The Athletic reported
that FSG is exploring a deal to purchase Spanish second-tier side Malaga. FSG's immediate focus is on the stake of
majority shareholder Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani.Malaga are 49 per cent owned by
Spanish hotel and real estate group Blue Bay, while Qatari businessman Al Thani
owns the other 51 per cent. The club currently find themselves in
administration and under judicial control.
The group believes this is an opportunity to restore Malaga
to the upper echelons of the Spanish and European game.Malaga reached the
Champions League quarter-finals in 2013 but five years later were relegated
from La Liga and have yet to return.
Earlier this week, Paris Saint-Germain's owners Qatar Sports
Investments (QSI) confirmed to The Athletic that the
group is interested in adding Malaga to their portfolio, with a spokesperson
saying: "QSI is exploring a range of investment opportunities across Europe and
America currently".
Since FSG pulled out of talks to buy troubled French outfit
Bordeaux last July, there's been an extensive audit of suitable alternatives
with clubs across Europe analysed from financial, technical and geographical
standpoints.
Since post-Brexit regulations came into force in 2021,
English clubs are no longer able to sign players under the age of 18 from
overseas. Owning a club in a country which is still a member of the European
Union can help to circumvent those rules, as players can be based there until
they reach adulthood.
For older players initially ineligible to get a work permit
to play in the UK, placing them at another club can also be beneficial in terms
of building up their qualification criteria.
