Bristol City fan and former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is on the board of a company considering a minority investment in champions Liverpool.
Scudamore, who is from Bristol, left his position at the Premier League in 2018 and is now on the board at RedBall Aquisition Corp, which is targeting a large minority investment, according to the New York Post.
American investors and sports moguls Billy Beane, who was played by Brad Pitt in the film Moneyball, and Gerry Cardinale recently received over half a billion dollars from RedBall, says the report, and that they will go fishing in the UK football market to invest the cash.
Beane is an advisor for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and also holds a minority stake in Championship side Barnsley so knows the UK market and will look to draw on Scudamore's experience of the Premier League to negotiate a Liverpool investment.
The Premier League champions are reportedly on the look out for new investment in a pre-Covid environment, claims the report.
“Liverpool has to be their primary target,” one sports banker told the New York Post. “It’s a top brand and a huge club. It’s also looking for a deal like this.”
Beane is also a friend of Liverpool owner John Henry and that could go some way towards helping the deal along.
Liverpool are thought to be worth more £2 billion but the Mirror reports that they could lose up to £250m due to the coronavirus pandemic and the effect it has had on football.
“The Premier league has gone through a difficult time with Project Restart,” said Daniel Geey, a partner at London-based law firm Sheridans, who specializes in sports. “Clubs will have COVID-related budget shortfalls. There might be cash flow issues coming up.”
