Jeff Bezos has set his sights on Liverpool: the deal of the century in world football?
Amazon shares are trading near all-time highs, and its founder Jeff Bezos appears to be preparing for a major acquisition outside the technology sector. The move involves purchasing a significant minority stake in the English football club Liverpool.
According to my information, an investment consortium that includes Bezos is in the final stages of negotiations with Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool's owner. The deal could be announced as early as this week. It involves acquiring a stake exceeding 30% of the club, which is valued at approximately $6 billion.
A consortium of billionaires and a strategic bet on sports
The syndicate is led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who previously held a stake in Queens Park Rangers. Alongside Bezos, the consortium also includes Eduardo Saverin, the 44-year-old co-founder of Facebook. Saverin has already tried his hand at football, participating in an unsuccessful attempt to acquire London's Chelsea at an auction in 2022.
The group's financial firepower is beyond doubt: Bezos's wealth exceeds $280 billion, while Saverin's is over $32 billion. FSG has already confirmed interest in investments from this consortium. For comparison, FSG acquired the club in 2010 for just 300 million pounds. In 2023, Dynasty Equity bought a small stake, valuing Liverpool at $4.5 billion. The current valuation of $6 billion caps off 16 years of profitable club operations.
For Bezos, this marks his first public foray into football assets, signaling the growing interest of major investors in sports as a standalone asset class. It's worth noting that Liverpool is going through a transitional period: the club parted ways with coach Arne Slot and winger Mohamed Salah, and after winning the Premier League in the 2024–2025 season, it dropped to fifth place the following year.
Amazon shares on the rise
Meanwhile, Amazon shares continue their rally. On Friday, the stock closed at $274.48, up 0.82% for the day. Over the year, the shares have gained 24.2%, and since January, 18.65%. The company's market capitalization surpassed $3 trillion for the first time on August 3 but held that level for only a day. Amazon is now worth about $2.96 trillion, with a 52-week high of $287.2.
The growth driver is the cloud service Amazon Web Services. Analysts are raising price targets, with the most optimistic estimate reaching $400. Bezos himself completed a planned sale of Amazon shares worth $4 billion this month—the filing was submitted eight months ago, indicating the planned, rather than speculative, nature of the transaction.
FSG and the consortium declined to comment on the deal's timeline. Football club finances have come into focus after FIFA decided to sell a stake in the World Cup. In the coming days, it will become clear whether Liverpool's new partners will remain passive investors or begin a push for full control of the club.
My take: This is a landmark event not only for sports but also for global capital markets. The arrival of figures like Bezos and Saverin in football confirms that sports assets are becoming a safe haven for ultra-large capital diversifying risks beyond technology. For the crypto industry, this is also an indirect signal: institutional investors are increasingly seeking alternative assets with long-term growth potential, and the tokenization of such deals could be the next logical step.