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Few figures in modern Liverpool history carry as much goodwill as Michael Edwards. Edwards departed Anfield in 2022, turning down multiple approaches from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United before eventually agreeing to return to the Liverpool fold in 2024.
Crucially, however, he came back not as a club employee but as FSG’s CEO of Football – working directly for the ownership group rather than Liverpool specifically.
The headline ambition attached to his return was that FSG wanted to build a multi-club ownership model, and Edwards was the man to spearhead it. He made no secret of his excitement, stating at the time that “one of the biggest factors in my decision is the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club.”
Two years on, those plans have been quietly shelved. FSG reportedly assessed over 30 clubs across Europe, including Bordeaux, Malaga, Getafe and Monaco, before concluding that valuations were simply too high to justify the investment. With the project that lured him back now dead in the water, Edwards’ own future at the organisation has been thrown into serious doubt.
There has already been reports from the Athletic that Edwards’ future is in doubt. Now Paul Joyce of the Times has revealed that both Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards’ futures at Liverpool are unclear, with Edwards not likely to sign a new contract:
“FSG are guided by the sporting director Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards, chief executive of football for FSG, whose own futures have become blurred as each has just over a year remaining on their contracts,” he wrote.
“Al-Hilal have targeted Hughes, but there would be surprise from some at the club if he was to leave this summer. That is not to say, however, he is at Liverpool for the long term.”
“Similarly Edwards, who has been frustrated as far back as last summer by the lack of progress with regard to the purchase of a second football club for the FSG empire, does not appear likely to sign a new deal as it stands. ”
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