Michael Edwards has been hired as Fenway Sports Group’s ‘CEO of Football’, succeeding Mike Gordon as the man in charge of Liverpool’s day-to-day operations.
Edwards, who departed the club in the summer of 2022, has returned in a newly established post by the Reds’ Boston-based owners, with the former sports director now serving as head of football operations at Anfield.
In a big announcement, FSG president Gordon will now step down from his role at Anfield, with Edwards reporting directly to the Fenway board on all Liverpool matters moving forward.
The University of Sheffield graduate will now lead the search for Jurgen Klopp’s successor, and he is anticipated to appoint Richard Hughes as his sporting director after stepping down at Bournemouth last week.
Gordon initially relaxed his duties at Liverpool in the winter of 2022, when it became clear that the owners were considering an outright sale while ramping up their global search for external investment by hiring two major US banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, to oversee the process.
However, FSG president Gordon, who has been the most hands-on of the club’s owners at Anfield over the last 14 years, returned to the fold a few months later but has always shown a desire to move away from being the day-to-day decision maker. The appointment of Edwards now gives Gordon the opportunity to do so as he prepares to wish his good friend Klopp farewell in a few months.
It is known that conversations began following Klopp’s announcement in late January that he would be terminating his illustrious nine-year tenure as Liverpool manager, with additional face-to-face discussions held in Boston earlier this month.
It was here that Edwards received precise promises about the new post, which will give him a significantly broader remit than the one he held previously as the club’s first-ever sporting director from 2016 to 2022.
Indeed, he will lead the search for a new football club in FSG’s portfolio, which Edwards admits was a major factor in his decision to rejoin.
He stated, “It was critical for me that if I returned, it would be with renewed verve and vitality. In practice, this means facing new difficulties and possibilities. As a result, one of the most important elements in my decision was their pledge to acquire and manage one other club, expanding this section of their organization. I feel that in order to remain competitive, the current football portfolio must be expanded and invested in.
“At Liverpool, I will oversee the necessary reinforcement of football operations, with a number of critical senior roles requiring immediate attention. I know from personal experience how well Mike Gordon has handled day-to-day operations on behalf of his co-owners. Going forward, I’m excited to collaborate with FSG’s Board of Managers. Also, I completely recognize that this role carries high expectations, and I plan to seek, hire, and then empower leaders who meet and represent the club’s values and objectives.”
Edwards turned down a number of offers to return to football after leaving Liverpool, including Chelsea and Manchester United, as well as alleged interest from Real Madrid. The former analyst, however, was uninterested in moving to another club to continue doing the same job he had at Liverpool for so long.
Instead, Edwards founded his own consultancy firm after leaving the club, partnering Ian Graham, the Reds’ former director of research, but FSG’s new CEO of Football will resign from Ludonautics at the start of June to usher in a daring new era at Anfield.
FSG were anxious to get Edwards back in the door when Klopp informed them of his decision to quit in November, and the opportunity to revamp the Liverpool system with a bigger and more extended list of responsibilities appealed.
The Boston owners believe Edwards’ 11-year tenure with the club, during which time he established himself as one of the most astute sporting directors in European football, qualifies him as a trusted executive capable of providing continuity across the football club during a period of significant transition off the pitch.
The new setup faces a major challenge in replacing Klopp at the end of the season after nine successful years in the Anfield dugout. Since his October 2015 appointment, the German has had a transformative impact on the club, and choosing a replacement to such a popular manager is a hard challenge.
Xabi Alonso of Bayer Leverkusen remains the fans’ preference, but Sporting coach Ruben Amorim, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, and Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi have also been linked with the post.
Hughes, who will succeed Jorg Schmadtke as sporting director, is set to be Edwards’ first hire. The German signed a one-year contract in June and assisted in the recruitment of Ryan Gravenberch, Wataru Endo, and Dominik Szoboszlai last summer before departing at the end of the January transfer window following Klopp’s surprise announcement.
“Obviously for me, it is a shame, because I have been working quite closely with him this season,” Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said last week of Hughes’ departure. “He is excellent at his profession. We’ve had a great relationship since the beginning. I wish him the best in the future.”
Aside from being credited with negotiating the arrival of many of Klopp’s top stars between 2016 and 2022, Edwards also played a significant role in bringing the £50 million AXA Training Centre to fruition by using his contacts at Red Bull Salzburg to gain insight into their training facility in Liefering, Austria.
Edwards was given access to the Red Bull Academy to use as a reference point in the construction of Liverpool’s £50 million base, which opened in 2020, and his extensive contacts book across the game was critical for Liverpool during a glittering three-year period from 2019 to 2022, when the club won every major trophy possible.
