Amit Bhatia, a new co-owner of Liverpool Football Club, was observed at Anfield for the first time since his consortium acquired a significant minority stake in the club. The investment, valued at £1.65 billion, also includes participation from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Bhatia, whose 1892 Holdings spearheaded the purchase, assumed the role of Vice Chairman following the investment. He was seen in the stands on Saturday, sporting a club tie, as Liverpool prepared for manager Andoni Iraola's first competitive home match at Anfield against Nottingham Forest. Iraola's tenure began with a 2-2 draw against Newcastle the previous weekend.
Bhatia expressed his excitement about joining the historic football club. "It feels incredible. It feels surreal when I hear those words, obviously an incredibly proud moment for myself, for my family, for our partners," he told club media. "We're talking about Liverpool Football Club here, right? I mean, we're talking about the greatest football club in the world. And so to have the ability to be involved in any capacity is a huge privilege and a huge honour."
He added, "I'm just the biggest admirer of everything that is associated with this football club, whether it's the history and the culture, the supporters, the journey of this club, the owners in FSG, the management team at Liverpool. There's just so much to admire, so much to frankly be in awe of."
Bhatia, a British-Indian businessman with a background in investment banking, is the son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. He emphasized that the investment is subject to regulatory approvals and that current owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) remain the decision-makers.
"I think again it's very important to emphasise that we're going through a regulatory process. That regulatory process is under way and we have to be incredibly respectful of that process," Bhatia stated. "So, it's important to say that, number one. Number two, I think it's important to be very clear that this club remains under the ownership of FSG. FSG are the decision-makers and this is their ownership. They have invited us and we're very fortunate to be a partner as a minority alongside them."
He further explained that his involvement, and that of his partners, would be in any capacity FSG deems beneficial for the club. "We come from different geographies, we come from different professions, and hopefully with that you bring different experiences and ideas, different thoughts. If we are called upon, if there's any area that we have this expertise in or that FSG would like to discuss with us, our thoughts or our involvement, we would absolutely be there."
Bhatia believes Liverpool Football Club has vast potential for future growth and expressed optimism about a long-term association, provided that any future actions align with the best interests of the club. "We believe that the potential for the football club is still vast ahead of us and we have had some discussions with FSG as to those thoughts," he said. "And hopefully if everything goes well, our association with the club will also be for a very, very long period of time. And so as and when we can see those opportunities and we feel that they're in the best interests of the football club, as an entire group we'll come together and try to support in the best way that we think we can."