Michael Edwards agrees to senior role with Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group
By James Pearce
10m ago
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Michael Edwards has agreed to take a senior role with Fenway Sports Group, which includes the former Liverpool executive taking oversight of the club’s football operations.
The Athletic reported Edwards was close to agreeing a senior role with FSG, and this was expected to see Richard Hughes fill the vacant the sporting director position after his exit as Bournemouth technical director was confirmed this month.
Liverpool are in the midst of a huge transistion following manager Jurgen Klopp’s decision to step aside this summer, with his closest staff also scheduled to leave and sporting director Jorg Schmadtke already having departed.
FSG targeted Edwards to spearhead the restructure — floating the idea of him occupying a top job at Liverpool or inside the ownership group — but he initially turned down the opportunity.
However, the US group continued its pursuit and Edwards now joins in a far broader capacity that encompasses Liverpool, rather than specifically returning to Anfield.
Edwards will help lead the post-Jurgen Klopp era (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
The appointment of Hughes has always depended on FSG securing Edwards and, having served notice to the south coast team some time ago, the ex-Scotland international has held discussions with multiple suitors since the January transfer window closed.
Edwards is known to regard Hughes among the industry’s leading operators and his move to install Andoni Iraola as Bournemouth head coach last June underlined his credentials.
Edwards was at Liverpool for more than 10 years before his departure in 2022 and was credited with playing a major role in the success that saw them win the Premier League and Champions League.
He had helped assemble Liverpool’s 2019-20 Premier League title-winning team. He identified Klopp to replace Brendan Rodgers in 2015 and helped bring in signings such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Alisson and Virgil van Dijk.
Edwards took a year-long break post-Liverpool but returned to football in 2023 by launching Ludonautics, an advisory service, alongside the club’s ex-director of research Ian Graham. It is unclear what Edwards arriving will mean for his commitments to Ludonautics.
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Why FSG pushed so hard for Edwards
It’s clear why Fenway Sports Group didn’t take no for an answer when Michael Edwards turned down their initial approach about a possible return to Liverpool earlier this year.Senior executives John W Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon view Edwards as absolutely integral to the success the club have enjoyed under their ownership and have been desperate to get him back on board to help shape the post-Jurgen Klopp era at Anfield.
Edwards earned their respect initially with his work as head of performance and analysis after joining Liverpool from Tottenham in 2011. Five years later he was promoted to the role of sporting director and recruited the team which won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League title in 2020.
It was Edwards who pushed hard for the signing of Mohamed Salah from Roma in 2017 and convinced Klopp that he would light up the Premier League. He also secured deals for the transformative duo of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, as well as bringing in the likes of Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Ibrahima Konate.
He earned a reputation as a shrewd negotiator – holding out for a record fee of £142million when Philippe Coutinho was sold to Barcelona in January 2018. He also secured hefty fees for fringe stars such as Mamadou Sakho (£26m, Crystal Palace), Dominic Solanke (£19m, Bournemouth), Danny Ward (£12.5m, Leicester City) and Danny Ings (£20m, Southampton).
With a data-led approach, Edwards made FSG’s self-sustaining business model work and established a close bond with FSG president Gordon.
The owners always admired his ability to take the emotion out of the decision making process and the fact he was never shy to question and challenge other senior figures, including Klopp.
They didn’t want to lose him in the summer of 2022 when Edwards decided to step down following the end of his contract.
With Edwards not interested in returning to his former job as sporting director, FSG have had to offer a more wide-ranging role with greater responsibilities.
There’s a lot of uncertainty at Liverpool with so much change on the horizon this summer. FSG view Edwards as the perfect candidate to put the right structure and personnel in place to guide the club through that transition.
