The Reds chief executive has praised the Fenway Sports Group for putting the club first.
Ian Ayre says that Liverpool Football Club is now back in a position where it has fully recovered from the disastrous reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and that valuable lessons from the Americans’ leveraged buy-out of the club have been learned.
Hicks and Gillett took over at Anfield in 2007 but were out the door just three years later when John W. Henry stepped in to save the club from administration.
“It is great for our supporters because they went through a difficult time and it is always devastating to see such a great tradition and establishment as Liverpool being in such great difficulty,” said Ayre.
“It taught us the importance of sustainability and running the club properly. No-one wants to go back to those dark days again.
“There was a lot to focus on: we had to improve the squad overall and that took investment at a time when we had little cash and a lot of debt. And it is testament to our new owners that they invested heavily and we started to improve the on-pitch side.
“It was also important to put in the pieces to take the business of the club forward, because in a world of Financial Fair Play and sustainability they are the things which generate the revenue to buy the players.
“It was a five-year plan and I am pleased to say it has been successful on all fronts, and the club has not been in such great health.
“It is pleasing to know we are on a great footing, have fantastic owners who believe in sustainability, believe in putting the club where it should be and treating it with the respect it should have.
“As long as we continue with those values we will be in good shape.”]
As well as Liverpool’s success on the field – they finished runners-up last season to Manchester City in the Premier League by just two points – Ayre insists that the club is now making the most of its marketing opportunities.
“I read a stat the other day that we sold £50,000 worth of Balotelli shirts on the day he signed,” added Ayre, speaking at Soccerex in Manchester.
“You have to be geared up for that. In the past Liverpool had the situation where they had success or an opportunity and did not capitalise on that, but those days are long gone.
“The signing of Mario was never about commercial opportunity, it was about football and it always will be. But it shows you the power of the Liverpool name and the power of a player like Mario.
“That is what Liverpool is about, having huge reach and success around the world.
“When you have big opportunities you have to be able to capitalise on them.”
