John Henry and Tom Werner, arguably the two most powerful figures at Liverpool, are seemingly at loggerheads over a key element of the club’s strategy.
Henry is the co-founder of Liverpool ownership group Fenway Sports Group, who have appointed co-investor Tom Werner as chairman at the Merseyside club.
FSG’s ownership model is to increase the enterprise value of the club, with a view to ultimately flipping it in the future for a major profit on the circa £300m they paid for it in 2010.
Revenue has skyrocketed in that time, thanks largely to soaring domestic and overseas Premier League TV deals and a maturing commercial and matchday income strategy.
The club are consistently exploring new ways to push the envelope in terms of turnover – and one plan has proved particularly controversial among their domestic fanbase.
Tom Werner want Liverpool games played abroad, John Henry disagrees
The expanded Club World Cup and a proposed official Premier League pre-season tournament have pushed the issue of competitive matches being played abroad to the top of the agenda.
As reported by The Sun, Liverpool are backing the new Club World Cup format alongside their peers in the so-called Big Six.
This is separate to the idea of a 39th game – essentially a competitive Premier League match being played in the United States or further afield.
However, it is emblematic of a growing push to take Premier League football beyond UK shores, which is supported by Liverpool chairman Werner in a bid to boost the club’s broadcast income beyond its current annual base of £242m.
As quoted by the Financial Times in a profile of Henry, the 74-year-old said: “I’m determined one day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City.
“I even have the sort of crazy idea that there would be a day where we play one game in Tokyo, one game a few hours later in Los Angeles, one game a few hours later in Rio, one game a few hours later in Riyadh and make it sort of a day where football, where the Premier League, is celebrated.”
However, later in the same profile, Henry appeared to disagree.
*“\[It is\] not something that I advocate or am particularly interested in,” *said the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool paymaster\.
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Could Liverpool matches really be played abroad? If so, when?
Premier League CEO Richard Masters has said the “door looks ajar” for Premier League games to be played outside its traditional home.
However, the inevitable fan backlash from passionate domestic fanbases like Liverpool‘s means that it is far from a formality.
The imminent independent regulator for English football could potentially block such a development.
The scope of the regulator is yet to be fully defined and, after the outcome of the general election is known, could change completely with a new government mandate.
That could be good news for Liverpool, who are vehemently opposed to the independent regulator – privately at least.