Supporters around the world are uniting against the multi-club model – and that is bad news for Liverpool’s ambitions of taking over a major club in Brazil.
Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group already own MLB side the Boston Red Sox and ice hockey outfit the Pittsburgh Penguins, and they are now looking to expand their football empire.
They have been linked with a takeover of historic Brazilian club Vasco da Gama, who were until recently controlled by 777 Partners, the investment group attempting to take over Everton.
That deal looks doomed amid a series of financial and legal controversies surrounding the Miami-based firm, the latest of which serves as a cautionary tale for Liverpool‘s multi-club aspirations.
Why are 777 Partners causing controversy?
The 777 group have been in the multi-club racket for some time but recent incidents across their wider business portfolio have left them unable to pay players and staff across the network.
Now, the ultras of six 777-owned clubs have released a dramatic statement lambasting the group and the concept of multi-club ownership more broadly.
As relayed by Josimar journalist Philippe Auclair, the supporters of Hertha Berlin, Red Star Belgrade, Sevilla, Melbourne Victory, Standard Liege and Vasco have described the multi-club model as a “curse”.
“Today, enough elements are publicly known for everyone to understand that 777 Partners is a fraudulent, ultra-indebted company and a toxic player in football,” the statement read.
“It is therefore urgent that 777 Partners leave our clubs immediately.
“More than ever, multi-ownership of clubs appears to be conducive to the rise of control of football by nefarious entities, such as 777 Partners. This curse must be fought by supporters around the world.”
Could Liverpool really take over Vasco da Gama?
If the latest statement is anything to go by, Vasco fans will likely be resistant to being taken over by another entity with multi-club ambitions.
FSG are a more credible organisation than 777 Partners, however.
While supporters across the FSG group have decried a perceived lack of sporting ambition, their capabilities as businesspeople has never been in doubt.
The pathway to a possible takeover is clear as 777, who bought a 70 per cent stake in the club in 2022, have now effectively been ousted by the Brazilian courts.
Their deal to buy the club was worth an initial £108m and FSG would probably have to part with a similar amount to buy the four-time Brazilian champions.
But the active hostility towards the multi-club model among Vasco’s 20,000 match-going fans will not aid their cause.
What other clubs have FSG been linked with for a takeover?
Boston-based FSG have been linked with clubs in several different continents, most recently the United States, where they are said to be eyeing an unnamed MLS club.
Ligue 1 side Tolouse are another side to have reportedly been explored by Liverpool owner John Henry.
Sources have also previously told this site that FSG are looking broadly at sides who the FA classify as Band 2, which include the Turkish Super League, Portuguese Primeira Liga, Dutch Eredivisie and Belgian First Division A.
That is in order to help Liverpool, who would be the mothership in a multi-club structure, to satisfy post-Brexit transfer criteria that dictates that players must acquire the necessary experience in a top league before moving to a British club.
Which other clubs are part of a multi-club network and has there been any more controversy?
Man City are routinely held up as the gold standard in the multi-club landscape.
City Football Group own 12 clubs in five different continents, but even they have experienced more backlash from supporters of those sides in recent times.
Fans of Troyes, the Ligue 2 outfit who City acquired in 2020, forced a match to be abandoned earlier this month because of protests against the group’s ownership.
Previously, City saw an attempted takeover of Dutch side NAC Breda collapse after a series of fan protests.
Generally, these acts of dissent have stemmed from supporters feeling like their clubs have lost their identities and are being subordinated for the benefit of the main club in the network – City, in this case.
They are not the only Premier League side to be involved in a multi-club operation, however.
To differing degrees, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Man United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United are all part of a wider multi-club structure.