Why Liverpool owners FSG have just sent executive to meet Donald Trump as £2.3bn deal key
Yesterday at 04:43 PM
Liverpool have so many ties to the United States besides the nationality of their owners and the official fan clubs they have in every state.
The United States is a key commercial market for any Premier League club and Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s owners since 2010, know this better than most.
The Boston-based investment group have grown their sports empire by optimising costs and taking a forensic approach to recruitment and retention in tandem with a best-in-class commercial strategy.
They now boast one of the most valuable sports and entertainment portfolios in the world, with football finance expert Kieran Maguire telling TBR Football that Liverpool alone are worth around £4bn.
At Liverpool, commercial revenues have skyrocketed since FSG bought the club for £300m. In the last financial year, revenue from sponsorship, merchandise and events was around £272m.
The redevelopment of Anfield has helped the club better monetise their domestic fanbase. That in turn has justifiably led some supporters to critique FSG’s commercially-orientated focus.
The owners have zeroed in on overseas markets too – it is telling, for example, that new commercial director Kate Theobald’s last role at the club was focused on North and South American strategy.
Liverpool have also toured the United States on several occasions in recent years, and the Premier League are desperate for them to take part in the next edition of the Premier League Summer Series.
But like all businesses, Liverpool don’t exist in a vacuum and are to an extent at the mercy of the wider economic environment.
Geopolitical events in the United States, where president elect Donald Trump is set to massively scale up tariffs on overseas goods, will not have been welcomed within Anfield’s commercial department.
However, FSG may now have Trump’s ear via another of their major sports enterprises.
FSG give blessing for Donald Trump’s golf ‘peace talks’ – Newcastle United owner present too
Trump already has several connections with Premier League football – albeit indirectly.
On Sunday morning, he attended UFC 309 alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is chairman of Newcastle United as part of his governorship of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
The Trump campaign also received money from the owner of Bournemouth and Manchester United, as well as soon-to-be Everton owner Dan Friedkin.
But golf is Trump’s true sporting passion and he boasted that he could solve the fractures in the sport between the PGA Tour and PIF-owned LIV Golf in 15 minutes if elected.
The successful Republican candidate now has the chance to do exactly that and appears to be putting his money where he mouth is.
FSG paid £2.3bn to invest in the PGA Tour last year.
They enjoy a close relationship with its boss Jay Monahan, who met with Trump for ‘peace talks’ over the future of golf this week with the PGA ownership’s blessing, as reported by The Times.
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TV rights, shirt prices, and brand exposure: How Trump’s presidency could affect Liverpool
Speaking to the Liverpool ECHO, sports business and politics expert Professor Simon Chadwick outlined why Trump’s presidency could affect Liverpool and their peers in the Premier League.
"Something like Premier League football is seen as very un-American,” he said.
“There are so many major US sports, including the WWE and UFC, and Trump used the latter to try and engage with new audiences during his run for office.”
Trump’s more isolationist economic policy could impact the price of Liverpool merchandise in the US and impact supply chains, Chadwick continued.
"One of the issues that clubs could face is that part of the Trump manifesto was imposing sanctions on imported goods.
“We don't know what form those sanctions might take put it could be potentially 30% of the value of an imported item, raising the price significantly.“
Even TV rights – by far the biggest individual revenue stream for the vast majority of Premier League clubs – could be at risk in the US under the new administration.
"It could move into impacting TV rights or through imposing tariffs on earnings generated on pre-season tours, which have been lucrative for clubs. All this risks taking money away from clubs.”
