Liverpool's owners are in talks over an investment deal which could see them build a European football empire… with legendary baseball figure Billy Beane helping run it.
The Wall Street Journal has confirmed reports from business insiders in the United States, which suggest Beane - who is famous for his Moneyball approach which revolutionised baseball - would resign his role with the Oakland Athletics to concentrate on the new venture. Sources close to the deal suggest Beane would not work for the Red Sox, but instead concentrate on building up the new company’s football sports ventures in Europe, which would include buying new clubs.
And that opens up the prospect of the new company buying up several football clubs across Europe to form a group similar to the Red Bull football franchise, which owns RB Leipzig and Salzburg, along with clubs in Brazil and the United States. The benefits for Liverpool would be obvious, allowing them for instance, to follow the same practices as the Red Bull group in bringing young players to Europe and blooding them at the smaller club, before moving on to the bigger club - a route followed by Naby Keita.