Liverpool and FSG chiefs Tom Werner and John Henry Creidt: Kristian Skeie/UEFA/John Powell/Liverpool FC

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Liverpool and FSG make major £117m call as John Henry U-turn sparks boardroom backlash

Adam Williams

Tue 18 February 2025 17:30, UK

Managing the occasional PR crisis is part of the job description of owning a Premier League football club, especially one with a global pulse like Liverpool, as Fenway Sports Group know all too well.

Easily the biggest scandal of the FSG era came in 2021, when John Henry and Tom Werner led Liverpool into the European Super League.

That breakaway attempt had been in the workඣs since 2016. As one of the chief architects of the plot, Fenway Spots Group engineered clandestine talks to make it happen.

Ultimately, the Super League colla♕psed within 48 hours in the face of overwhelming 🌳political pressure, which was a direct consequence of protests from fans in Liverpool and beyond.

Henryܫ was forced to shoulder responsibiliಞty – the apology he gave to camera will go down as probably the most mortifying moment of the 75-year-old’s career.

Four years on, Arne Slot stands on the brink of delivering a second Premier League title of FSG’s 🍌15-year reign at Anfield in a season that many expected to be a write-off as Liverpool adjusted to life after Jurgenꦗ Klopp.

But the shameful🔯 Super League project still 🦋casts a long shadow in L4, particularly among the dedicated section of the fanbase who take it upon themselves to hold the owners to account.

There is justifiable anxiety about Liverpool’s fixation on commercial income, which echoes what we’re seeing acros🌳s the board in the so-called Big Six at present.♈

FSG are desperate to leverage t♉he power of Liverpool’s ‘brand’ and intellectual property to strike lucrative new sponsorship deals, make Anfield a magnet for tourists, and sel🅺l merchandise.

The phased expansion of the stadium in recent years – which Billy Hoganꦇ says will be the last expansion at Liverpool for some time – has been geared towards attracting a di💟fferent, more lucrative kind of fan.

Although they operate in a different time zone, Liverpool’s paymasters in Boston have their ear to the ground 24/7 and are aware of the complaints about the atmosphere at Anfield.

🌜But the latest news direct from Liverpool HQ suggests that the owners are taking a more nuanced approach, although the bottom line is the primary focus.

• READ MORE: Liverpool and FSG chairman Tom Werner’s dream one step clos⭕er as £4bn deal marks end of 30-year era

John Henry and FSG back down over ticket prices again; rivals won’t be pleased

In 2023-24, a season when Liverpo𒈔ol were without lucrative Champions League football, the club earned £1🅷17m through the turnstiles.

Now, the Merseysiders have announced that they are freezing general admission and season ticket prices for next season after raising them by two per cent in 20﷽24-25.

This is in contrast to the Premier League trend which has seen clubs raising prices faster than the rate of in🀅flation and phasing out concessions prices.

It is also at odds with what John Henry said about Liverpool ticket prices in 2016, when he described the ಞresistance to premium prices as a “problem” that could be barrier to the expansion of Anfield.

He quickly reversed his stance following protests at the stadium at🉐 the time, as well as due to the pressure a🔯pplied by fan representative groups like Spirit of Shankly.

The mood music within the football finance industry suggests that the news has not been well re෴ceived in the boardrooms of rival Premier League clubs.

Liverpool’s peers have highlighted that the Reds have 11,000 corporate seats, which puts them in a privileged position and allows them to continue to build matchday incom🌺e re🔜gardless.

• READ MORE: FSG ’90 per cent🥀’ done recouping Liverpo🅘ol takeover fee as John Henry seeks £1.4bn-valued deal in US

Liverpool matchday income set to soar despite price freeze

Credit where it’s due – this is a step in the right direction, albeit one that comes far too late for the thousands of fans who have alrea🌺dy been priced out.

But this should be the model that more clubs look to pursue. Ultimately, It’s in 🍸FSG’s commercial inte🦹rests to do so too.

They trade off the folklore and noise generated by bedrock fans. C🔯on♉tinue to squeeze them and it will die, which – in the long run – will hurt Liverpool’s brand and leverage with both sponsors and corporates.

Supporters demanding greater and greater spending have effectively chosen to dine with the devil. Clubs need to generat✱e greater revenues to keep up in the Premier League’s wages and transfer arm𓃲s race.

Greate🦂r emphasis on hospitality won’t go down well with some supporters, but if it༺ satiates FSG’s rapacious demand for commercial growth without passing the burden to real fans, it’s a necessary evil.

In any case, non-t♔icketing income is where elite clubs like Liverpool are rea⭕lly pushing the envelope.

They have enlisted consumer psychologists to inform an increasingly sophis⛦ticate♕d stadium strategy, funnelling fans into the right areas of Anfield and the surrounding site where they will open their wallets.

For c💫ontext, Tottenham make close to £1m per matchday from catering alone. Extr💞apolate that over the course of a season and you can see how this moves the needle significantly for Liverpool.

It’s༒ the event-like, US-style model that FSG are looking to emulate. There is less resistance to premium prices and the nakedly 𒐪commercial ambitions of owners in American franchise sport.

We just need✨ to ensure it isn’t at the expense of ordinary match going fans.