THIS MEANS MORE (MONEY)
Far be it for Football Daily to make cheap gags [wait, what? – Football Daily Ed] relating to the involvement of Amazon founder and master of the universe Jeff Bezos in a consortium buying around 30% of Liverpool FC. Will new signings arrive via prompt delivery but end up next door at Everton? How will fans rate the packaging? Etc, etc. There’s also the involvement of Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder poking his head in. Though long ago unfriended by Mark Zuckerberg, Saverin still ranked No 56 on Forbes’s billionaires list. These are seriously rich men, and among the planet’s chino class, to quote Vladimir Putin, “soccer is popular”. The Geopolitics World Cup posh seats were full of those eyeing up deals on a frontier hardly new to investors from the USA USA USA, but where there may be much more gold to strike. See Gianni Infantino’s misreading of the art of the deal as an, ahem, prime example.
Bezos is no football man, barely known as a sports fan. Links with buying the Seattle Seahawks, his local NFL franchise, were speculative. He is, though, the third richest man in the world, according to appendage-measuring listicles. Amazon’s market value is higher than Brazil’s annual GDP. For certain people, that triggers arousal at the thought of their team being able to buy the biggest and best players in the world. Just imagine if their club was to spend, say, £446m in a single summer. How good would that be?
For others, there is a regrettable mission creep towards a civic institution – one that, despite global fame, cleaves to its local community – being tossed around by venture capitalists. Though that process has been in train since Tom Hicks and George Gillett arrived on Merseyside, full of huckster charm, almost two decades ago. The socialism and collectivism Bill Shankly envisaged for the club he made famous disappeared in the sepia-tinged rearview mirror. Football was a business even back in Shanks’ day but now attracts the richest suits of all; if Bezos is chancing his arm in football, what price Elon Musk or Google tycoon Larry Page are seen wearing the scarf of their chosen club? Oh joy.
Current overlords Fenway Sports Group, who picked up the pieces from impending disaster in 2010, are, yes, a consortium of American venture capitalists. Their existential aim is to make as much loot as possible from an asset purchased for a knockdown price of £300m. It’s gone well. This mooted deal includes Bezos, Saverin and Amit Bhatia, a frontman you may recognise from when QPR fans celebrated their owners being richer than Roman Abramovich. That did not go well. The latest deal would value the club at £4.4bn. High-fives all round, though the doubles and trebles may take time. Liverpool enter the season with an imbalanced squad, unsuited to a manager whose arrival was generally seen as a Good Thing. If football is all about money, even the biggest money cannot solve every problem.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“After careful consideration, we don’t feel it is right to proceed at this time without the necessary preparation in place, but we will remain in conversation with the club and see what is possible in the future” – one wealthy benefactor not entering the game – yet – is Turki Alalshikh, whose bid to buy a controlling interest in Derby will no longer proceed, with the club now off the market.
RECOMMENDED LOOKING
Here’s David Squires on … the masochistic life of a Football League fan.
Having also boycotted the GWC and also being very concerned about the season to come, I sympathise with Ken Muir (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). But at least Hearts know who their manager is. Due to the absurd, months-long FA ‘investigation’ into the manager who’s clearly admitted culpability for the undisputed facts of Spygate, my club, Southampton, is in a horrid limbo. Surely it could have been done and dusted in a couple of weeks and Saints could have planned accordingly. But perhaps the FA blazers were too busy writing their letter of support to Gianni Infantino to worry about destabilising my football club” – Bob Cushion.
‘It’s 15 years of frustration here at this club,’ says Rangers boss Derek McInnes (yesterday’s Quote of the Day.) Steven Gerrard and the sole object in his managerial trophy cabinet would like a word, Derek” – David Maddock.
Given the surfeit of the recent GWC machinations, the blatherings and canvassing for Gianni to do one (or not) and the less-than-sportsmanlike attitude from members of the Argentina team, can we please have a reprise of the Football Daily’s erstwhile, eventually abortive, attempt to ‘STOP FOOTBALL’? It has to be worth a thought, before VAR, PGMOL and Arsenal’s Dark Arts Department™ get to work on the 2026-27 Premier League shenanigans, surely?” – Budgie Wright.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Bob Cushion, who gets some Football Weekly merch. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
The Football Weekly pod squad are back again and you can listen to it right here … or watch it here too.
DERBY DAZE
The Milk Cup first round came to a lively climax down by the Sound on Monday night with Plymouth Argyle hosting bitter rivals Exeter City. Earlier in the day, the Grecians unveiled new signing Ethan Sutherland on a season’s loan from Wolves. Little more than eight hours later, and with the game goalless and headed for penalties, Sutherland was sent for an early bath after picking up a second yellow card. Cue former Exeter defender Alex Hartridge popping up moments later in added time to head home the opener in a 2-0 win and silence travelling fans who had lobbed a lighter at him from the stands and offered up some choice lyrics about his family. “It definitely gave me a bit more and it made that sweeter, the way it ended,” cheered Hartridge, whose side will host Coventry in round two. Check out the full draw here.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
“He is fantastic,” is Donald Trump’s glowing analysis of Gianni Infantino as the USA USA USA president warned that Fifa would be making a “terrible mistake” if it got rid of the beleaguered president.
Myles Lewis-Skelly has been offered to Manchester United as a tempting left-back option, with Arsenal wishing to recoup some of the £75m paid to Newcastle for Bruno Guimarães.
Enzo Maresca has revealed why Erling Haaland is unlikely to be made Manchester City captain: he scores too many goals. “At Leicester and Chelsea, I had a rule that when we scored, the captain had to come to the bench for instructions and not celebrate,” City’s boss explained. “But if he scores, then he can celebrate. If Erling is the captain, [effing] hell – we have a problem, can you imagine?”
Chelsea will face Real Sociedad in Women’s Bigger Cup third qualifying round to earn a place in the main draw. The Blues will be at home for the first leg in the last week of August, before the second leg in Spain a week later.
Fulham have signed midfielder Shea Charles from Southampton for a reported £30m. “I’m buzzing to finally get it over the line,” buzzed the 22-year-old Northern Ireland international. “To be here is a massive privilege.”
Rangers’ miserable start to the season continues with the news that striker Youssef Chermiti faces a lengthy layoff with an ACL injury. The 22-year-old was carried off on a stretcher during the 2-1 defeat by Hibs.
Scottish striker Robbie Ure has joined Sevilla, leaving Swedish league leaders IK Sirius for an initial £5.5m fee. The uncapped 22-year-old is the Allsvenskan top scorer this season with 15 goals in 15 games.
And Crystal Palace and Everton have engaged in some playground-style swapsies: your Brennan Johnson for my Dwight McNeil. Need!
STILL WANT MORE?
These Premier League season previews are coming thick and fast: next up are Bournemouth and Brentford.
Jonathan Wilson asks: are Manchester United about to return to relevance under Michael Carrick?
In the Mill … and you’re going to like this … Jamie Vardy to West Ham?
And Big Website’s culture club cast an eye over the José Mourinho doc.
MEMORY LANE
Wolverhampton Wanderers will play a league fixture against Lincoln City this season for the first time since May 1987. Here’s Steve Bull scoring in a 3-0 win at a dilapidated Molineux, Wolves at the time slumming it in the old Fourth Division, from which they’d need two attempts to escape. The Rob Edwards debacle suddenly doesn’t seem so bad, does it?
