Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have appointed ex-sporting director Michael Edwards as the company’s chief executive of football.
Edwards turned down one approach by FSG to bring him back after Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season.
Further detailed discussions about his role then took place in early March.
“Michael is one of the most formidable executive talents in world football,” said FSG president Mike Gordon.
“He returns to us in a role with greater seniority than he held previously and with a wider remit.
“It was clear when we initially reached out to him that a broader scope would be a key motivating factor for any potential return to the industry. In this regard – and many others – his ambitions matched ours.”
Gordon added Edwards “will take over responsibilities I have previously held regarding oversight and management of Liverpool FC’s football operation”.
Edwards joined Liverpool in 2011 and became sporting director in 2016 before leaving the club in summer 2022.
Following his exit, he turned down a number of offers to return to the game, which included roles to run the football operations at Chelsea and Manchester United.
His new role at FSG will include a restructure of football operations at Liverpool, which will include bringing in a new sporting director.
Liverpool have been without a sporting director following Jorg Schmadtke’s exit in January and they have been linked with Richard Hughes, who will leave his role as Bournemouth technical director at the end of the season.
The new sporting director will then be responsible for identifying and recruiting a successor to Klopp.
FSG looking at buying a second club
The offer made to bring Edwards back also included helping to identify and subsequently manage a second club.
“One of the biggest factors in my decision is the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club, growing this area of their organisation,” said Edwards.
“I believe that to remain competitive, investment and expansion of the current football portfolio is necessary.”
Edwards brought in a number of key players during his time as Liverpool sporting director, including goalkeeper Alisson Becker, defender Virgil van Dijk and forward Mohamed Salah.
The club then went on to claim the Champions League in 2019 and end a 30-year wait for a top-flight title by winning the Premier League in 2020.
Edwards has most recently been working as a consultant for Ludonautics – a sports advisory business set up by Ian Graham, who was Liverpool’s director of research from 2012 to 2023.
He will give up that role to return to Liverpool.
“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 UK and the world,” added Edwards.
“I am looking forward to getting started.”
