Jeff Bezos linked to potential Liverpool investment as Amit Bhatia consortium seeks stake

The story of potential investment in Liverpool took a new twist on Wednesday, as Jeff Bezos' name was thrown into the mix.

Barely 24 hours earlier, it had emerged that a consortium led by British-Indian millionaire businessman Amit Bhatia had expressed interest in buying a stake in the Premier League club.

Normally at this time of year, attention is focused on transfer activity before the new season.

But when Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) confirmed Bhatia's interest in exploring the possibility of acquiring a "strategic minority investment" in the club, it generated the kind of interest and conversation among supporters typically reserved for a marquee signing.

The 46-year-old, the son-in-law of the Indian billionaire businessman Lakshmi Mittal, had been a director and co-owner of Queens Park Rangers for 18 years before relinquishing his stake in the club on Tuesday.

His decision to step away from the west London club appears to pave the way for him to lead a consortium of investors seeking to purchase a reported 30% stake in the Anfield club.

Now new reports suggest Amazon founder Bezos has been approached about joining the consortium.

Sources close to Bhatia declined to comment when asked by BBC Sport whether Bezos had been approached, saying only that the consortium had held discussions with a number of potential investors. FSG also declined to comment.

BBC Sport takes a look at Bezos' background and whether the American businessman could be about to become part of the Premier League's world.

American businessman Bezos, founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, is the fourth-richest person in the world.

According to Forbes, the 62-year-old has an estimated net worth of $256.9bn (£192.1bn).

He stepped down as Amazon's chief executive in 2021 to become executive chairman, although he still owns 8% of the company.

Bezos also owns The Washington Post and aerospace company Blue Origin and, as recently as 2021, was ranked as the world's richest person.

Although Bezos has yet to invest in sport, he has come close on more than one occasion.

In 2023, the American billionaire was linked with a takeover of NFL franchise the Washington Commanders after owner Daniel Snyder put the team up for sale.

He has also previously explored the possibility of buying Super Bowl winners the Seattle Seahawks.

Bezos ultimately decided against submitting an offer for either franchise.

When FSG sold a minority single-figure percentage stake to global sports investment firm Dynasty Equity in 2023, that deal allowed it to make up on revenue lost during the pandemic and pay down debt for projects such as investment in the club's training centre in Kirkby and the Anfield Road stand expansion.

This time around, that is not the case - the club are in a strong position financially. In February, Liverpool confirmed that they achieved record revenues of more than £700m and was the highest-placed Premier League club in the Deloitte Football Money League.

So this development certainly raises questions about the long-term future of FSG. From an FSG perspective, it has seen Liverpool win everything there is to win since buying the club in 2010 for £300m, while upgrading the training ground and developing the stadium. According to the Financial Times, a deal with the Bhatia consortium would value the club at around £4.5bn. So perhaps FSG believes the club is peaking and it may be time to start stepping away.

This is an uncertain time for Liverpool with a new head coach in Andoni Iraola and big changes at senior level, with Michael Edwards stepping down as FSG's CEO of football, primarily because the ownership had moved away from the idea of investing in other football clubs. Meanwhile, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has been strongly linked with a move to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

For now, Liverpool supporters are left with more questions than answers.

Since completing its takeover of the club in October 2010, Fenway Sports Group, then known as New England Sports Ventures, has established itself as a steady and reliable custodian.

The American ownership group has overseen sustained success on and off the pitch, with Liverpool winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup since 2019.

Therefore, the prospect of new investors, and potentially new ideas and approaches, inevitably raises questions, particularly if they are entering elite-level sport for the first first time.

Liverpool supporter Neil Atkinson, CEO of The Anfield Wrap, told BBC Sport that questions "should be asked whenever anyone is interested in paying money for an involvement in any Premier League club".

He said: "What is in it for these very, very wealthy individuals, for whom Liverpool's yearly turnover, not profit, which is rare for Premier League clubs, would barely make a dent?

"The 'why' won't be one thing or the same across the board. Part-ownership in four or five sports across the globe could have been deemed to have more value for the Mittal family than partnerships, for instance. At least here you still hold the value of the asset.

"However, as long as everyone keeps asking the 'why' at such an expensive price point, then we will hopefully understand the motive more at some stage."

Almost four years after FSG explored the possibility of selling the 20-time English champions, the prospect of new investors raises the question of whether this could be part of a longer-term strategy towards an eventual exit from Anfield.