Liverpool chairman Tom Werner's £2bn dream just got closer as leaked document emerges

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Rousing the Kop or go back to LFC Live.

FSG head honcho and Liverpool chairman Tom Werner’s ambition to take the Premier League to the United States and beyond appears to be one step closer to reality.Speaking in 2024, Werner said: “I’m determined one day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City. I even have the sort of crazy idea that there would be a day where we play one game in Tokyo, one game a few hours later in Los Angeles, one game a few hours later in Rio, one game a few hours later in Riyadh and make it sort of a day where football, where the Premier League, is celebrated.”That was almost three years after FSG tried and failed to drag Liverpool into the European Super League, which itself came after Liverpool’s owners co-authored Project Big Picture, another plan to rewire the fabric of English football.

Both plans were rejected, though Fenway Sports Group have since extracted concessions from both the Premier League and UEFA which mean their efforts were far from futile.John Henry, of course, apologised to Liverpool fans in the wake of the Super League plot. FSG have explored the idea before… 👀 Tom Werner quote, outlining ambition to take Liverpool match to New York Credit: Winslow Townson/Getty Images With the Premier League season reaching its crescendo, Liverpool players’ attentions will soon turn to the World Cup being hosted primarily in the United States, the commercial mecca which FSG have grand ambitions to conquer with Liverpool.And this week, thanks to a leak from FIFA HQ, Werner and his peers in Boston could soon get their wish.FIFA proposal could see Liverpool Premier League matches taken overseasThe idea of ‘Game 39’ has long been circulated in Premier League boardrooms.The opportunity for clubs like Liverpool with global fanbases to take a competitive match to the United States, the Middle East or another major commercial market is seen by many investors as the next logical step on from the lucrative pre-season tours on which they take their clubs.Recently, La Liga have struggled to get the political will from the Spanish FA and FIFA to approve a match in the United States, but new reports suggest that FIFA is willing to soften its stance on the proviso that only a limited number of games are played overseas.As reported by The Guardian, leaked documents show that FIFA has proposed allowing leagues to stage one match abroad per season, with countries – and the US, where the Premier League’s TV rights are worth £2bn, is the obvious target here – permitted to host a maximum of five matches from other leagues annually.Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesAnd while this ostensibly represents a tightening of the existing rules, several experts consulted by Rousing The Kop suggest that this is actually more of a compromise: FIFA and national federations will permit one match to be moved abroad to prevent leagues angling for more.Liverpool, as one of the Premier League and English sport’s biggest exports, would be a dream target for the Premier League to take overseas.

And although the league itself says it is not in their immediate plans, the likes of Werner and other FSG big wigs will surely be lobbying for the Premier League to further explore the idea.Last season, Liverpool’s commercial income was just short of £324m. It is a similar picture for almost all of Europe’s biggest clubs.Assuming he is still in charge by the summer, Arne Slot will take his side to the US for pre-season in July, where Liverpool will play Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United in friendlies.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox