Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group is reportedly striding towards a multi-club ownership (MCO) model.
Liverpool would be the FSG flagship regardless of which additional clubs the ownership group brought into the fold but MCO is apparently seen as a necessary strategic step.
Getafe finished in mid-table in La Liga last season and represent a number of opportunities for growth after interest in fellow Spanish side Malaga and French outfit Bordeaux was halted.
Liverpool eyeing up Madrid expansion?
According to reporting by The Times, FSG is considering Getafe and could approach the Madrid club as either a Liverpool feeder club or a strategic growth option in its own right.
“The Getafe owner, Angel Torres, has previously said he intends to leave the club once their Estadio Coliseum ground has been modernised, a project that is due to be completed in December 2027,” writes Paul Joyce.
Getafe’s availability could make them an attractive proposition for FSG but any move towards MCO would have to be dealt with smartly by any organisation with designs on European football.
The owners of Aston Villa and Chelsea have had to address their set-ups in order to comply with UEFA rules around conflicts of interest, while Crystal Palace and Lyon existing under shared co-ownership has put the Eagles’ Europa League place under scrutiny in the aftermath of their FA Cup win.
One club has already fallen foul of the rules this summer. Drogheda United, the League of Ireland Premier Division side and FAI Cup winners owned by the US-based Trivela Group, was expelled from next season’s Conference League because Denmark’s Silkeborg, also owned by Trivela along with Walsall, qualified for the Conference League too.
MCO has become increasingly common in football, with smaller groups like Trivela and Palace’s Eagle Holdings joining the party alongside global monoliths like Red Bull (clubs all over the world including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls), City Football Group (whose clubs include Manchester City, New York City, Melbourne City and Girona) and Ineos (minority share in Manchester United, majority stake in Nice and full ownership of Lausanne).
With United, City, Chelsea and Villa just a few of the many Premier League teams seeking to use MCO as a springboard to success, it’s little wonder Liverpool’s owners are thinking about joining them.
Nothing has yet been confirmed by Liverpool, least of all any tangible pursuit for Getafe.
“FSG routinely engages in conversations and evaluates opportunities across global sports, a common process to assess ventures that align with the organisation’s strategic priorities,” said a spokesperson for FSG.
