As a Red hailing from New York, there are two things I love in sports: watching Liverpool thrive and the Boston Red Sox fall apart.
That’s why I’m not only thrilled that Fenway Sports Group broke the bank to bring German superstar Florian Wirtz to Anfield, but also intrigued by how FSG’s ownership interests seem to be bleeding over into their MLB venture—namely, with the bombshell news that they’ve traded star third baseman Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.
It’s purely speculation at this point, but some Red Sox fans—including prominent sports media voice Bill Simmons—have suggested that Boston may have traded away their best hitter to avoid a looming payday, especially after Fenway Sports Group shelled out an exorbitant sum to bring Florian Wirtz to Liverpool.
“Liverpool spends 150m on Florian Wirtz the same week Boston trades Raffy Devers? Time to put the tinfoil hat on,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Liverpool put in a 150 Million pound deal to buy Wirtz from Leverkusen and Red Sox just traded away Devers for a bag of chips… things that make you go hmmm…” wrote another.
All a coincidence?
It could be purely coincidental, but there may be something to fans’ suspicions.
In addition to signing Wirtz, FSG also dropped nearly £30 million on Jeremie Frimpong, are reportedly close to securing Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, and could be prepared to spend even more if rumors about the club’s interest in Alexander Isak come to fruition.
If Liverpool are indeed preparing to break the English transfer record twice in one summer with a potential move for Alexander Isak, then offloading Devers’ $330+ million contract could certainly help free up funds for FSG to pursue the Newcastle striker.
It could also position the Red Sox to finally dip back under MLB’s luxury tax threshold in the seasons ahead.
It also doesn’t help that the Red Sox are currently enduring a subpar season, sitting fourth out of five teams in their division—a situation FSG likely doesn’t see translating into a World Series run. Meanwhile,
Liverpool just cruised to a Premier League title and are gearing up to assemble an even stronger squad next season, which could signal where the ownership group’s priorities lie.
Reallocating funds to Anfield?
The same could be said during Jürgen Klopp’s early years at Anfield, when securing funds for transfer targets was a struggle—while the Red Sox went on to win the 2018 World Series with a star-studded roster backed by their owners.
Liverpool fans themselves know that FSG has a reputation for being reluctant to see out big contracts.
The Mohamed Salah contract saga nearly fell apart, with Salah reportedly only “10% sure” he’d stay at one point.
While the Reds ultimately managed to keep their Egyptian King, it now seems that Rafael Devers may have been the sacrifice bunt in FSG’s efforts to fund a potential Liverpool dynasty.
There’s nothing concrete to these rumors and speculations yet, and it’s entirely possible that FSG has a legitimate long-term plan to bring the Red Sox back into contention.
But as someone who loves both Liverpool and Boston’s fiercest rivals, the idea that Devers was shipped out of our division to help fund one of Liverpool’s potentially best-ever transfer windows is too tantalizing not to consider.