Echo: Liverpool owner Fenway Group may buy South American teams

Live Bar December 30, according to the "Echo" report, Liverpool owner Fenway Group may buy South American teams.

Fenway Group is reportedly interested in acquiring a portion of the stake in Brazilian club Cruzeiro, which previously became the first club in Brazil to transform from a non-profit entity to a for-profit entity to attract investment and restructure its finances. During the pandemic, in the non-profit model, cruzeiro clubs have been under considerable pressure, and the already difficult financial situation has been further exacerbated. Cruzeiro is now able to sell 90 per cent of its stake, and at the club's general meeting, one of the key figures who contributed to the shift said the Liverpool owners were the one who was interested in it.

Vasconcelos, a former Cruzeiro ombudsman and head of internal audit, said: "The takeover negotiations are international and all parties can make recommendations. I support the bank of Boston's proposal, which is closely linked to XP Investments. They have the best organised and managed football club in Europe, Liverpool, and they are even world champions. ”

Bank of Boston collapsed in 1999, and Fenway Group has occasionally used Bank of America in negotiating acquisitions, but there is no indication that Bank of America is involved in those negotiations. XP Investments has established links to the U.S. market through the New York Stock Exchange.

In the past week, another Brazilian team, Botafogo, has also been linked to Fenway Group's acquisition plans. John Tycoster, a shareholder of another Premier League team, Crystal Palace, is also reportedly close to acquiring Botafogo.

After Brexit, with the Uk Home Office implementing new rules from early 2021, football clubs in the UK are prohibited from signing foreign players under the age of 18, and even if they are 18 years old, they must meet the Governing Body Licensing (GBE) requirements. Whether an overseas player can meet the requirements depends on a scoring system that looks at factors such as how well a player plays in high-level events, the number of national team appearances and the intensity of matches.

When it comes to RATINGS for GBE, races in South America are weighted. In addition, compared to Europe, there are more opportunities for young players in the top domestic competitions in South America. That's why Premier League clubs are now really focusing on the South American market, which is more likely to get the required GBE rating than in Europe.

Liverpool's ties with the Brazilian players are already there and have been strengthening over the past year. In addition to Alisson and Fabinho, legendary goalkeeper Claudio Tafarell has also joined the team as goalkeeper coach. Liverpool also signed Brazilian youth goalkeeper Pitaluga, who represented Brazil at all ages in the national team and led Brazil to the U17 World Cup title in November 2019.

In addition, Manchester City owners City Football Group also hold controlling stakes in two South American teams, namely Moments Club Montevideo from Uruguay and Bolivar club bolivia. Over the past two years, City have focused their reinforcements on South America, with their scouting network finding some talented players and bringing them to the club.

Seven players have joined or are about to join Manchester City in recent months. 18-year-olds Naver Bustos, Jan Cotto, Diego Rosa and Metinho have all joined City in the past year, costing the latter £21.5 million. Along with them are Dario Samiento, Keykey and Crouffers Aguilar, who together cost more than £14 million.

(Zhen Shiming)