Liverpool's £540 MILLION investor Gerry Cardinale of RedBird has message for Merseyside

Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Liverpool investment round has been completed and Liverpool owners FSG have received more than £500 million as a part of the deal. After the completion of the deal, Cardinale also relayed a message to the Liverpool fans. The Reds are having a miserable 2020/21 campaign as per their standards as they find themselves at the seventh place in the Premier League standings. So the query has come up - 'Who is Gerry Cardinale?"

Who is Gerry Cardinale?

Gerry Cardinale is the founding and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners. His firm recently secured a £538 million investment deal with the FSG Liverpool team this week to give the club a financial boost after a pandemic hit year. Cardinale is keen on building a European portfolio of clubs as he also invested in Ligue 2 side Toulouse last July.

Gerry Cardinale message for Liverpool fans

Over the years, Gerry Cardinale has realized that when it comes to the sports landscape in both America and Europe, it is not about the money but it is about the fans. "The fans really own the team, you as an owner or a prospective owner you better get around the fact that you are just a caretaker at this moment in time, you've gotten the proverbial baton and you have an obligation to do right by those fans. You have an obligation to put a winning team on the field, you have an obligation to create value to the fans and enhance the way that they experience their team," explained Cardinale. The Reds' fans would be delighted to hear Cardinale's statements considering that the Anfield crowd has played a pivotal role in lifting the team's performances over the years.

RedBird Liverpool investment first of many in pursuit of emulating City Football Group and the Red Bull Group?

As per reports from The Boston Globe earlier this year, Liverpool owners FSG hope to diversify their portfolio by also including NFL and NBA franchises, another European football club, NHL, MLS, among other teams. This approach is similar to City Football Group (CFG) who own Manchester City. CFG have highlighted their objective of owning at least one football club in each continent. As of now, CFG owns clubs in the UK, US, Australia, Spain, Japan, Uruguay, China and India, at an approximate valuation of $4.8billion.

Meanwhile, The Red Bull Group also have a similar portfolio as they own RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg as well as football clubs in Brazil, Ghana and the US. The group has also diversified its portfolio into other sports as they own two F1 teams, an ice hockey team and e-sport teams. Even though Liverpool may take a while to emulate the successes of CFG and the Red Bull Group, this investment may just be a start.