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Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group has reportedly abandoned plans to buy Spanish club Getafe as its hopes of entering a multi-club ownership model have taken a major hit.
Plans for the Reds’ owner to expand its soccer portfolio have been on the table for some time now as it looked to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City and Chelsea’s owners. Michael Edwards was brought back into the fold to head up the model, with Liverpool’s former sporting director having been appointed as FSG’s CEO of Football earlier this year.
Toulouse and Malaga had been previously touted as possible targets before plans for Getafe emerged, with suggestions during the summer that FSG was moving ahead with the acquisition of the La Liga club.
Those plans now look to have been shelved though, with Marca reporting that FSG has withdrawn its interest.
Despite a deal only being valued at around $151 million (€130M), it’s suggested that the American company has fears over short-term investments in the context of a club like Getafe, given the measures controlling squad costs in La Liga.
It’s thought that restrictions on increasing wage spending relative to revenue would have made it difficult to accelerate the club’s growth in the manner in which FSG would have liked to.
The situation is compared to those that have been faced by Newcastle and Aston Villa recently, with both clubs having had to offload a number of players in order to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
Indeed, Getafe president Angel Torres publicly acknowledged the difficulties the club has faced in registering new players, having offloaded the likes of Christantus Uche to Crystal Palace and Omar Alderete to Sunderland.
What’s more, FSG’s analysis of the club is said to have concluded that the main value of Getafe’s squad lies in its veteran players, which would potentially lead to considerable investment being needed quickly in order for it to compete for more ambitious goals.
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Torres had insisted earlier this year that he would not be selling Getafe despite the reported interest.
“I've been here for 25 years, and every year a journalist comes out saying something... And now it's Liverpool," he told COPE.
"But it's not for sale. One day I'll have to leave. But it's a long way off."
Despite apparently ending its plans for Getafe, it is suggested that FSG hasn’t ruled out future investments in Spanish soccer.
The Athletic has previously reported that Levante, Elche, Espanyol, and Real Valladolid were also being considered by Liverpool’s owner.
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