Fenway Sports Group have had their critics since buying Liverpool in October 2010, but say what you want about them, they are no pushovers in the transfer market.
Their level of investment in the Reds squad has perhaps been the biggest stick to beat them with, certainly during Jurgen Klopp’s nine-year tenure as Liverpool manager. While they have strengthened the squad and broken the club’s transfer record a number of times with big-money signings, it’s inescapable that they haven’t been able to compete with the likes of Man City financially.
The Reds have missed out on certain transfer targets due to their financial constraints, with the only positive being that, unlike some of their rivals, they have never spent beyond their means and don’t face a constant struggle to comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
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But there is no silverware on offer for such a feat. Would a greater outlay in the transfer window under Klopp proven to be the difference between their singular Premier League and Champions League titles and greater honours? With Arne Slot in charge as the club’s new head coach, it’s all ifs and buts now.
Publicly at least, the German was content and defended FSG for the majority, right until his last day as Liverpool manager, realistic about the club’s situation. But that would never be enough to satisfy the transfer-hungry social media hordes or pitchfork and torch-waving, ‘hashtag FSG out’ keyboard warriors.
While FSG might have a level of control over the pursestrings at Anfield, transfer decisions are still made by football specialists boasting expertise far beyond their American superiors in Boston.
That is now even more clear following mass changes behind the scenes at Liverpool, with the likes of Michael Edwards, Julian Ward and David Woodfine returning to the club – though the two are FSG employees rather than Reds. But it is the likes of these key figures and the club’s recruitment team that decide the targets, set their transfer fee limits and handle negotiations, with the backing of the club’s owners of course.
But while FSG’s operation perhaps can be disputed when it comes to incoming transfer business, despite the success of the majority of deals Liverpool conclude, maybe outgoings is where they deserve more of a pat on the back.
After all, while the Reds might miss out on targets to Real Madrid, with Leny Yoro set to be the latest example, it has been a long time since they were deemed to have been ‘bullied’ in the market.
Their handling of Luis Suarez back in 2013 perhaps set the precedent, when Arsenal infamously bid £40m and £1 in an effort to activate his transfer release clause.
“What do you think they’re smoking over there at Emirates?” was FSG principal owner John W. Henry’s response on social media to such efforts from the Gunners.
Liverpool would retain the Uruguayan’s services for a further year as he enjoyed an incredible 31-goal campaign, tying him down to an improved contract to address any release clause discrepancy, before banking a then club-record £65m when selling him to Barcelona the following summer.
Since then, key players have left, but the Reds have still walked away happy with the fees they pocket.
Man City were the next to test such a resolve when pursuing Raheem Sterling in the summer of 2015. After a number of rejected bids, with the first standing at an initial £30m Liverpool banked £49m for the England international.
Initially spurning Barcelona’s advances for Philippe Coutinho in the summer of 2017, despite the Brazilian and Catalans’ best efforts, the Reds ended negotiating a record £142m deal the following January. Meanwhile, one of the clauses as part of that transfer ensured the La Liga giants would have to pay a hefty premium if they came calling for one of Liverpool’s stars again.
When Bayern Munich snapped up the wantaway Sadio Mane in the summer of 2022, Liverpool essentially made all their money back on the Senegalese after laughing off the Bavarians’ initial offers, having signed him in a £34m deal from Southampton six years earlier.
Likewise, last summer, the Reds managed to make a profit on their initial fee spent on Fabinho when selling the Brazilian to Saudi club Al-Ittihad for a whopping £40m.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have been just as shrewd when offloading players no longer part of their first team plans, with asking-prices set against market trends. Onlookers have regularly been impressed by the fees received for fringe stars, with the likes of Neco Williams, Takumi Minamino, Rhian Brewster, Danny Ings, Dominic Solanke, Mamadou Sakho, Christian Benteke, and Jordon Ibe a handful of their most lucrative outgoing deals.
Such has been Edwards’ reputation for his involvement in previous negotiations, that there’s a story of a meeting with a Premier League counterpart who broke the ice by bowing at his feet in exaggerated appreciation for one particular deal that had seen Liverpool bank a healthy fee for a player who was surplus to requirements. Of course, the Reds are far more than a one-man show behind the scenes, but such a reputation is both deserved and hard-fought.
It is a far cry from yesteryear when onlookers would regularly curse how Liverpool had lost star players ‘on the cheap’ with Xabi Alonso and Michael Owen’s £30m and £8m moves to Real Madrid, plus Javier Mascherano’s £18m switch to Barcelona perhaps the most obvious examples.
Consequently, with the Catalans reportedly interested in signing Luis Diaz from Liverpool this summer, they have already been warned and have first-hand experience of the Reds’ tough-negotiating. If they want the Colombian, he will not come cheap with any potential fee likely to be well in excess of the £49m handed over to Porto when signing the forward in January 2022.
Henry hasn’t had to take to social media again with regards to outgoing transfers over the past 11 years, but when making Liverpool’s Suarez stance clear for all to see in 2013, he set a precedent for his club and their employees to follow. There was maybe an expectation at the time that the Reds were a soft touch and could be walked all over, but as has been reiterated countless times under FSG’s watch ever since, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
