"There is always an exit strategy" — that's former Liverpool CEO Peter Moore cutting straight to what this week's headlines are really about. The 38% sale of the club to Amit Bhatia's 1892 Holdings group, in a deal worth around £1.65billion, isn't just a financial event. It's FSG beginning to map the door.
Bhatia's consortium is no ordinary investor group. Jeff Bezos — third richest person on the planet, net worth around £204billion — is in. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, worth a reported £24billion, is in. Bezos will be represented on the Liverpool board by K5 Global's Bryan Baum; Saverin by his wife, Elaine. Bhatia himself has been installed as vice chairman, having stepped away from nearly two decades at Queens Park Rangers just last month. That last detail matters more than it sounds.
The path to full ownership is already being discussed
According to CNBC, the 1892 Holdings group hold an option to buy Liverpool outright in 12 months' time — at £6billion. Moore, who served as CEO for three years under Jurgen Klopp before leaving in 2020, believes that option is the real story here.
"Whenever you have a merger and acquisitions situation where you're coming in with billions of dollars for a substantial minority, there is a conversation if not a contractual agreement, for majority ownership," he told The Soccer Business podcast. "What is the path to that?"
His read on Bhatia is telling. A man in his 40s, who resigned his position at a club he'd served for nearly two decades to front this consortium, doesn't do that for a passive minority stake. Moore sees him as the likely "controlling operator" of Liverpool's next era.
FSG's principals — John Henry and Tom Werner, both 76 — are at a stage where estate planning and investor pressure are real factors. Sixteen years in, some of the less prominent partners may simply want liquidity. This deal gives them a valuation benchmark. The £1.65billion price tag for 38% sets the floor for what comes next.
Don't expect Bezos to sign off on a striker
Moore is direct about what fans hoping for a transfer splurge are missing. Squad Cost Ratio rules — the successor to Profit and Sustainability — cap what clubs can spend on-pitch costs at 85% of revenue. That ceiling applies regardless of how wealthy your owners are. Personal cheques from Bezos or Saverin aren't going into the transfer kitty.
What this ownership group could do is accelerate Liverpool's commercial growth — which is where the real leverage lies. Moore pointed to the club's expanding retail footprint, now heading toward 40 stores globally including a new Oxford Street location, as evidence of the headroom that exists. A closer relationship with Amazon, given Bezos's involvement, isn't far-fetched either.
- 1892 Holdings have acquired 38% of Liverpool FC for approximately £1.65billion
- The group includes Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin
- Amit Bhatia has been named vice chairman after leaving his role at QPR
- An option reportedly exists to purchase the club outright for £6billion within 12 months
- FSG co-owners John Henry and Tom Werner are both 76
Liverpool's commercial revenue trajectory now becomes a serious factor in assessing the club's competitive ceiling — and by extension, their transfer market positioning in the 2026/27 window and beyond. Clubs that grow the top line fastest will have the most room to spend. That's the game Bhatia's group is playing. Whether they end up as majority owners or not, they've already changed the maths.
