Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the multi-sport ownership group that owns English Premier League soccer giants Liverpool, is reportedly set to enter the running to purchase Spanish soccer side Malaga CF.
The group, which also owns iconic Major League Baseball franchise the Boston Red Sox, and the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise (of the National Hockey League), is said to be exploring a move that will see it purchase 51% of Malaga from that club's current majority shareholder, Qatari businessman Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani.
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Al Thani owns 51% of the team, with the remaining 49% owned by the Blue Bay real estate group.
Malaga currently sit 15th in Spanish soccer’s second-tier Segunda division, having fallen into the third tier for a single season in 2023-24, but competed in elite European competition as recently as the 2012-13 campaign, when the side reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Liverpool is FSG’s only soccer investment thus far and the opportunity to purchase Malaga, a team with not only a recognizable brand but also infrastructure (the club boasts a 30,000-capacity stadium with hospitality sections and a museum), would allow both Liverpool and Malaga to benefit from a shared owner relationship that could see the pair share players, staff, and perhaps coordinated commercial deals.
That stadium in particular is a major draw for any prospective owner, considering Malaga’s positioning in a major tourism hub on Spain’s Costa del Sol, as well as the fact that the venue – which will be renovated in the next few years – will host fixtures at the showpiece 2030 FIFA World Cup.
FSG’s intentions could, however, ignite a bidding war with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the owner of French soccer giants Paris Saint-Germain, with that group also currently in talks to buy Malaga.
QSI is reportedly in negotiations with both Al Thani and Blue Bay for 100% of the club in what could reportedly be a €100 million ($107.92 million) cash acquisition.
Abdullah Al Thani is a member of Qatar’s ruling family and a distant relative of its current emir Tamim Al Thani, while QSI is linked to the Qatar government, which could potentially give QSI a leg up over FSG in the bidding, added to the fact that investment vehicle, which also owns Portuguese side Braga, is said to have been in purchase negotiations for Malaga for months.
