4 REASONS FOR JEFF BEZOS TO BE BULLISH ON LIVERPOOL

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 06: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between USA and Belgium at Seattle Stadium on July 06, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Soobum Im - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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According to a report early Monday from Sky Sports, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is part of a consortium that is nearing a purchase of one-third of Liverpool Football Club. The transaction will value the famous English Premier League outfit at about $6 billion, per that report.

With a current net worth estimated at $283.8 billion, Bezos is the world’s third-wealthiest man. And while Amazon Prime Video has become an increasingly prominent player in the world of live sports TV rights, the investment would be Bezos’ first directly into a major professional sports team.

Bezos wouldn’t be anywhere close to a majority investor in the club, given that there are several members of the consortium that would take one-third control of the 20-time English league champions.

Even so, it’s intriguing that Bezos might begin his dalliance in sports ownership in the Premier League, rather than an American league such as the NFL, where he was once linked to a potential purchase of the Washington Commanders.

Why might one of the world’s most influential businessmen think the Premier League is the right place to invest right now? Read on for four possible reasons.

Bang for the Buck?

While $6 billion is a substantial figure, it’s less than half of the going rate for the Dallas Cowboys, currently the world’s highest valued sports franchise at $13 billion.

Yet Liverpool has exponentially more followers worldwide, a figure estimated in the hundreds of millions thanks to the Premier League’s unrivaled global distribution.

Of course, the overwhelming majority of Cowboys and other NFL fans live in United States, the world’s wealthiest economy, and it’s the NFL’s domination of that economy that leads to the high valuation of the Cowboys and other franchises. But there’s still a case that global soccer entities like Liverpool bring more for their investment buck.

Unique Growth Potential

The immediate aftermath of the 2026 World Cup in the United States could prove uniquely favorable when it comes to global soccer brands growing their profile among American audiences.

For better or worse, the assumption among sports media types has been that fans newly infatuated with the sport will seek to continue their interest by watching the Premier League, rather than MLS or other domestic U.S. leagues. And there could be a lot of those folks if the TV numbers are any indication.

The final between Spain and Argentina on July 19 drew an audience of more than 60 million viewers in the United States, according to data provided by rights holders Fox and Telemundo. That made it the most-watched non-NFL sporting event in the U.S. since the Nancy Kerrigan-Tanya Harding scandal captivated audiences at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

Premier League audiences on NBC have already proved sizable, rivaling national NBA or MLB regular season broadcasts on network TV.

More Revenue Control

Unlike NFL franchises, which operate with widespread revenue sharing between the 32 teams, Liverpool FC and other huge soccer brands have more control over their own revenue generation.

Money from the Premier League’s TV contracts are distributed partially by merit, meaning higher achieving clubs and those appearing in more televised games take in a larger share. And unlike the NFL, soccer clubs keep all of the revenue they generate from commercial partnerships, matchday revenue and merchandise sales.

If this is truly a watershed moment for major European soccer in the U.S., the revenue potential of that moment may be even larger than an equivalent opportunity within U.S. pro sports leagues.

Better Competitive Prospects

After a famously long drought, Liverpool have won two of the last seven English Premier League titles. And with Pep Guardiola departing as Manchester City manager following last season, it feels like there is an opportunity for another club to overtake City as the dominant force in English football.

Liverpool certainly won’t be the only team trying to do that. But they are among the clubs most suited to be successful, given the combination of their recent upward trends and history of success.

On the flip side, global soccer isn’t constrained by the same North American competitive models that create the parity of the NFL. Only seven clubs have won the Premier League since it split from the old English Football League in the early 1990s. So if Liverpool can emerge as the new dominant force, their place atop the English football pecking order could become relatively stable.

- Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes

LIVERPOOL OWNERS CLOSE TO €1.58BN SALE OF 30% STAKE TO CONSORTIUM INCLUDING JEFF BEZOS

Group including Amazon founder has held talks with Fenway Sports Group

It is understood the deal is effectively agreed but may take up to a month to complete. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images

A consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is close to completing a deal for a 30 per cent stake in Liverpool after months of talks with Fenway Sports Group.

The investors are led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, who previously was a shareholder at Queens Park Rangers. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is another member of the group who are set to pay in the region of £1.35 billion (€1.58 billion) for almost a third of the Premier League club. It is understood the deal is effectively agreed but may take up to a month to complete.

Bezos has a personal fortune of around $257 billion (€223 billion), according to Forbes, making him the fourth-richest person in the world, while Saverin is reportedly worth $32 billion (€28 billion). This will be Bezos’ first investment in football but he has previously looked into bidding for NFL franchises. The 62-year-old will receive equity as part of the deal, which it is understood Deloitte has advised on.

Bezos is the executive chair of Amazon having relinquished day-to-day control when he stepped down as chief executive five years ago. Under his leadership the online retailer has looked to diversify as an entertainment provider in recent years and has bought numerous sports rights for its streaming service.

Amazon had live UK rights for 20 Premier League games each season for six seasons until the end of last year, and broadcasts the Champions League in several European countries, as well as NFL in the US.

FSG bought the Merseyside club in 2010 and have overseen an era which has included two Premier League titles. FSG previously sold 3 per cent of the club to the US private equity firm Dynasty Equity in 2023.

It has been a summer of change at Anfield, with Andoni Iraola replacing Arne Slot as head coach, while Mohamed Salah left on a free transfer and has since joined Trabzonspor. Meanwhile, Michael Edwards departed his role as chief executive officer at FSG.

FSG has been approached for comment. 

– Guardian

- Will Unwin

MADONNA & SABRINA CARPENTER SORRY, KNICKS!!! We Don't Have You On Our VIP List

NY Knicks' Players Turned Away From Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter's Met Gala After Party

Some New York Knicks' players went from courtside glory to curbside rejection ... getting turned away from one of the hottest Met Gala after-after parties in NYC ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources tell TMZ ... several Knicks stars tried to hit up Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter's ultra-exclusive bash at Zero Bond late Monday night -- just hours after their Game 1 playoff win -- but couldn't get past the door.

In case you didn't know ... the Knicks didn't just win .... they obliterated Philly 137-98 and made history in the process as the first NBA team ever to win three consecutive playoff games by 25 points or more.

We're told the party, held on the club's main 5th floor, was locked down tight with a strict guest list capped at around 200 people ... even though the space can hold nearly double that.

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Translation ... if you weren't on the list -- or tried sneaking in a plus one -- you were out of luck.

The Knicks weren't alone either ... plenty of known faces got turned away as Madonna and Sabrina kept the vibe intentionally intimate.

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Inside, though, it was a full-on A-list scene. Katy Perry, Margot Robbie, Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner all made it in, along with Serena Williams, Baz Luhrmann, Adrien Brody, Georgina Chapman, plus Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez.

And in a small world moment ... Katy and Orlando Bloom ended up under the same roof ... famous exes, but we're told no drama in sight.

Earlier in the night, most of the crowd bounced between the usual Met Gala circuit -- including the GQ and Saint Laurent parties -- before landing at the Zero Bond bash, which kicked off around 1 AM and ran until about 4 AM.

Security was no joke either. Our sources say the entire block around the venue was shut down and heavily guarded. We're told some of the rejected players headed over to The Box.

The Knicks may be making history on the court ... but off it? Not even a 39-point blowout was enough to score all access.

- TMZ

JAY-Z PROVES YET AGAIN THE NIKE AIR FORCE 1 IS THE SUPERLATIVE SUMMER SNEAKER

 

When longtime Puma brand ambassador Jay-Z first stepped out in a pair of Off-White x Nike Air Force 1s in 2023, speculation as to What It Meant ran rampant across the sneaker world. Hov had served as Puma’s creative director of basketball since 2018, and his stylist (and a renowned costume designer in her own right) June Ambrose had stepped in as the creative director of women’s basketball in 2020. When you work for a sneaker brand, you rep – you don’t boost the competition. Jay walked the walk for years, stepping out in Pumas on the regular (his affinity for the brand stretches back years before the partnership even began).

These days it’s unclear as to whether the professional relationship between Puma and Jay is still in place (though it’s worth noting that Ambrose left the brand in 2023 to focus on personal work). What we know for sure is that Jay-Z’s been stepping out in the Swoosh far more often in recent months. Case in point: at a recent housewarming party for Jeff Bezos, Jay showed up in a simple pair of Air Force 1s that served as the finishing touch to the perfect low-key summer fit.

Good fits tend to get overcomplicated, especially when summer heat sets in. Hov kept it simple with a drapey white tee and a pair of green track pants with a generous fit. He finished the look off with a simple chain and pendant and those aforementioned AF1s – a great pair to add to your summer rotation. When Jay’s stepped out in Nikes lately they’ve tended to be pretty elite ones, the sort that are prohibitively rare and expensive for your average sneakerhead (like the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 ‘Chicago’ he trotted out courtside at a Clippers game this past season). It’s not just Nikes, either. He’s also been spotted in adidas Yeezy joints and, most notably, pulled out an old pair of his S. Carter x Reeboks from way back in 2003 at the Super Bowl in February.

While the red-Swoosh Forces he laced up for this fit aren’t currently available on Nike’s online store, they’re a cinch to buy on resale platforms, where their price hovers only a few pounds above retail (StockX has their average price at around £90 as of this writing). It’s a classic colourway that goes with just about anything, but looks best with a simple fit like the one Jay rocked. We still don’t know the state of his relationship with Puma – more and more it seems like that chapter may be over – but these days it definitely feels like Hov may be cooking something up with the folks in Beaverton. That or he’s just a sucker for good fits, Swoosh or no.

- Trez Dean, GQ