Liverpool supporters’ group Spirit of Shankly has called for the interests of the club and its fanbase to remain the top priority, following reports that a consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is closing in on a deal to acquire a significant minority stake in the club.
According to Sky News, Bezos is part of an investor group led by Amit Bhatia, son-in-law of Indian steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, with Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin also involved. Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, confirmed in July that they had received an approach from Bhatia’s group, and Monday’s report suggested the consortium is now “closing in on a deal to buy a roughly one-third stake in Liverpool,” with FSG expected to make a formal announcement as soon as this week.
The financial scale of the potential buyers is considerable. Bezos ranks among the world’s wealthiest individuals, with Forbes estimating his fortune at more than $280 billion, while Saverin’s wealth is put at roughly $33 billion. Notably, this wouldn’t be Bezos’ first foray into sports ownership discussions; the 62-year-old has reportedly explored previous bids for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders in the past, though he ultimately chose not to pursue either deal.
In response to the reports, Spirit of Shankly has written directly to Liverpool requesting greater transparency and a meeting to discuss what the potential ownership change could mean for the club going forward. “Putting the interests of LFC and its supporters first is fundamental to us all,” the group said in a statement. “The latest report of a 30 percent sale and the consortium set up to buy it is significant. The ownership and custodianship of our club is paramount to SoS and all supporters.”
The group’s concerns are rooted partly in precedent elsewhere in football, pointing to cases at other clubs where similar stake sales led to noticeable shifts in club management and footballing decisions that fans didn’t necessarily welcome. “We have witnessed similar sales at other clubs resulting in notable changes in the running of that club and football operations, leading to decisions and behaviours that many would not want to see at Liverpool,” the statement added.
The potential ownership shift comes at a turbulent moment for the club on the footballing side as well. Liverpool won the Premier League title in the 2024/25 season under Arne Slot, but the Dutch manager was dismissed in May following a difficult follow-up campaign, with Andoni Iraola now taking charge of first-team affairs.
