8 months ago
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Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images
After two seasons away from the club, Edwards is returning to lead the Reds as the club’s new CEO of Football.
Liverpool’s plans for how the club will transition into the post-Jürgen Klopp era took a massive step forward today with the official announcement that former sporting director Michael Edwards had agreed to return as the CEO of football operations for Fenway Sports Group two years after departing the club to seek out new challenges.
Edwards’ return will see him in charge of the appointment of a sporting director, with it widely expected that man will be Richard Hughes, who is set to depart Bournemouth at the end of the current season. He will also lead the appointment of the next manager, with Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso and Sporting’s Rúben Amorim the favourites.
Perhaps more controversially, the announcement of Edwards’ return brings with it news that FSG are fully embracing a multi-club model, with Edwards additionally set to oversee the acquisition of further football clubs in other leagues—a model already embraced by City Football Group and now Chelsea under new owner Todd Boehly.
“I am very grateful to Mike, John, Tom and the ownership group for offering me the opportunity to take on this new leadership role,” Edwards said. “I was humbled by the desire and persistence they showed in wanting to work with me again. It was vital for me that, if I did return, it had to be with renewed vigour and energy.
“In practice, this means having fresh challenges and opportunities. As such, one of the biggest factors in my decision is the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club, growing this area of their organization. I believe that to remain competitive, investment and expansion of the current football portfolio is necessary.
“With Liverpool, I will oversee the reinforcement of football operations, with a number of essential leadership positions needing urgent attention. Going forward I’m looking forward to working with FSG’s Board of Managers. Also, in assuming this role, I fully understand that it comes with great expectations, and I therefore intend to identify, hire, and subsequently empower leaders who meet and embody the club’s values and ambitions.
“Having served the club previously I need no reminder of how much emotional investment is made by supporters in the city itself, as well as across the U.K. and the world. I am looking forward to getting started.”
Edwards first joined Liverpool in 2011 from Tottenham, becoming first the club’s Performance Director then its Technical Director, and finally being appointed to the role of Sporting Director in 2016, a role he filled for six years until his departure in 2022 to found his own consultancy business, Ludonautics.
In his two years away from Liverpool, Edwards rejected approaches to take charge at clubs including Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Chelsea, as well as rejecting Liverpool’s initial approach to him to return as the club’s Sporting Director, before agreeing to return to the Reds in an elevated role.
