In the past 10 years, Liverpool and Manchester City have been very competitive on the field, but the two clubs actually have a lot in common, which may be something that fans caught in the fight are not willing to admit. The Guardian reveals the com...
In the past 10 years, Liverpool and Manchester City have been very competitive on the field, but the two clubs actually have a lot in common, which may be something that fans caught in the fight are not willing to admit. The Guardian reveals the complex relationship between Manchester City and Liverpool behind the scenes.
In 2023, Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour partnered with the company that is the third largest shareholder of Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group to establish a co-investment vehicle RedBird IMI. Since 2021, RedBird Capital has owned 11% of Fenway Sports Group, while Liverpool's main owner John Henry holds the largest share of 40%. Mansour's International Media Investments (IMI) invested $750 million with RedBird Capital two years later as part of a joint fundraising that raised a total of $2.5 billion for investments in sports and media assets. The new fund was named RedBird IMI.
The fund is designed to focus on sports and media mergers. In the past two years, RedBird IMI has participated in investing in the "Daily Telegraph" media group, which has put them in a complicated situation. The question of why Mansour's IMI chose to partner with RedBird has not been answered publicly, like many investments in Abu Dhabi. Redbird Capital, founded in 2014 by New York financier Cardinale, has made a series of sports investments over the past five years, including acquiring Toulouse in 2020 and buying Milan from hedge fund Elliott Management for $1.2 billion in 2022.
It is understood that part of the funds invested by Redbird Capital in Fenway Sports Group was used to build the new Anfield Stand. This $735 million investment was completed in the spring of 2021, when Liverpool’s owners were seeking to make up for nearly 12 months of losses due to the new crown epidemic. Part of the funds were used to fund the £80 million Anfield Stand reconstruction project. Later that year, Fenway Sports Group purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team for $950 million, further expanding its sports portfolio to include the Boston Red Sox and various investments in NASCAR and golf. Despite being a co-investor, IMI does not hold shares in Redbird Capital, Fenway Sports Group or Liverpool.
One source likened the situation to Chelsea's ownership structure, with Chelsea's main shareholder Mirror Lake Capital receiving significant financial support from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which also owns Newcastle United. Links between ownership groups are likely to increase as private equity firms view sports clubs as investable assets, with Liverpool also indirectly linked to two other major European clubs. American investment group Arctos Sports Partners, another shareholder of Fenway Sports Group, owns minority stakes in Paris Saint-Germain and Serie A Atalanta.
