Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group exploring deal for Spanish side Malaga

Liverpool’s owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is exploring a deal to purchase Spanish second-tier side Malaga.

A delegation visited Malaga’s facilities in February to evaluate a potential acquisition as FSG looks to develop a multi-club model and apply its football operations expertise to teams it deems suitable.

FSG is considering and open to all forms of investment, with the priority — in relation to any of the clubs it has carried out diligence on so far — being to inject a level of finance that enables it to impact the football operation.

Regarding Malaga specifically, FSG’s immediate focus is on the stake of majority shareholder Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani.

Malaga are 49 per cent owned by Spanish hotel and real estate group Blue Bay, while Qatari businessman Al Thani owns the other 51 per cent. The club currently find themselves in administration and under judicial control.

FSG’s move aligns with its interest in acquiring teams with strong traditions and growth potential — similar to previous interest in Bordeaux. Last year FSG withdrew from talks to buy the French club “following extensive and constructive discussions with all stakeholders”.

The group believes this is an opportunity to restore Malaga to the upper echelons of the Spanish and European game.

Malaga reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2013 but five years later were relegated from La Liga and have yet to return.

An FSG spokesperson told The Athletic it routinely engages in conversations and evaluates opportunities across global sports, a common process to assess ventures that align with the organisation’s strategic priorities.

Malaga spent the 2023-24 season in Spain’s regionalised third tier and are currently 15th in the second division, seven points above the relegation zone and nine points from a promotion play-off spot.

Earlier this week, Paris Saint-Germain’s owners Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) confirmed to The Athletic that the group is interested in adding Malaga to their portfolio, with a spokesperson saying: “QSI is exploring a range of investment opportunities across Europe and America currently”.

FSG appears to be exploring multiple options, having conducted due diligence and site visits on a number of Spanish sides over the past year — including Levante, Elche, Espanyol, Getafe and Valladolid, with the French market the other main focus of its evaluation.

Alongside Liverpool, FSG also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, NASCAR’s RFK Racing, and TGL’s Boston Common Golf.

What would this mean for Liverpool?

Analysis from The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent James Pearce

It’s just over a year since former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards accepted the role of FSG’s CEO of football.

Key to his decision to return to the fold was the ownership group’s commitment to embarking on the multi-club model.

“I believe that to remain competitive, investment and expansion of the current football portfolio is necessary,” Edwards said when his appointment was announced last March.

When FSG president Mike Gordon emailed staff at Liverpool to inform them of Edwards’ appointment, he was keen to stress that buying another club would help rather than hinder Liverpool. “This in no way takes away from the focus, attention, care — and most importantly — the investment in Liverpool. In fact, we see it as a path that will help strengthen our club for the future,” Gordon wrote.

Over the past 12 months, Edwards has led the search to identify a suitable second club, assisted by FSG technical director Julian Ward and director of football development Pedro Marques. It’s always been about finding the right option rather than rushing into anything.

Since FSG pulled out of talks to buy troubled French outfit Bordeaux last July, there’s been an extensive audit of suitable alternatives with clubs across Europe analysed from financial, technical and geographical standpoints.

The attraction of reviving the fortunes of a club like Malaga is clear.

Since post-Brexit regulations came into force in 2021, English clubs are no longer able to sign players under the age of 18 from overseas. Owning a club in a country which is still a member of the European Union can help to circumvent those rules, as players can be based there until they reach adulthood.

For older players initially ineligible to get a work permit to play in the UK, placing them at another club can also be beneficial in terms of building up their qualification criteria.

What would this mean for Malaga?

Analysis from The Athletic’s La Liga correspondent Dermot Corrigan

Malaga fans will be enthused by the idea that FSG could finally resolve the institutional limbo the club has been in for many years now.

After Qatari Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser al-Thani took over Malaga in 2010, more than €200m was spent on players including Isco, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Enzo Maresca and Santi Cazorla, and a team coached by Manuel Pellegrini reached the 2012-13 Champions League quarter-finals.

However Al-Thani’s investment dried up, the bigger names moved on, and the team was relegated from the top flight in 2017-18. Meanwhile, plans for a €100m Qatari investment in a luxury marina and hotel complex in nearby Marbella never came to pass.

A judge has controlled the club since 2020, amid complex legal issues around a proposed sale of the club to local group BlueBay Hotels, who currently own about half of its shares. Judicial prosecutors are also investigating the alleged misappropriation of club funds during the presidency of Al-Thani — who has always maintained his innocence.

There is huge potential for a team in the city. Malaga is Spain’s sixth largest city by population, and the city is on the provisional list of host cities for the 2030 World Cup, although that will require a redevelopment of its La Rosaleda stadium.

In 2023, Paris Saint Germain Nasser Al Khelaifi president said that the Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) group which owns PSG were also interested in buying Malaga, but the complexity of the legal issues have so far made any takeover impossible.

The Athletic Football Podcast discussed the world of multi-club ownership this week. Listen to that episode in full here.

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