For Michael Edwards, it was supposed to be the culmination of a decade’s work and the perfect time to say goodbye at Liverpool.
After over 11 years as a club employee, six of them establishing himself as one of the most highly-rated among his peers of sporting directors across European football, Edwards was preparing to say goodbye with his hair down and tail up in late May of 2022.
Front and centre at Paris’ Cour de Vincennes, Edwards had cast aside his rarely-spotted, enigmatic public persona and was instead in a relaxed mood, beer in hand as the final hours of an esteemed career at Liverpool ticked away.
This wasn’t the hard-nosed, almost mythical executive that was responsible for the negotiations that brought some of the finest players of a generation to Anfield in the French capital.
Instead, as he danced the afternoon away in the front row of the Paris fan park just hours before the 2022 Champions League final with Real Madrid, this was Edwards bidding farewell in more jocular style; performing air guitar in a replica shirt while he sang along to every word of the Lightning Seeds’ set.
But as Jurgen Klopp prepares to walk away to deservedly live the Life of Riley himself later this summer, Edwards is instead back at Liverpool, tasked with ushering in a brave new dawn for club owners Fenway Sports Group.
That the post-Klopp era will be guided by the steady hand of such a trusted operator like Edwards is cause for optimism but he returns with a wider, broader remit as FSG’s ‘CEO of football’ – the role that has been specifically created for him by the Boston-based ownership group.
It speaks to the belief, trust and confidence FSG have in him that they have worked tirelessly to force a U-turn on his initial plans to stay away, but also that they have entrusted him with additional responsibilities, a new job title and what is undoubtedly a considerable pay hike for his efforts. Now, it is up to him to build on the legacy he has already installed at Liverpool.
From June 1 onwards – when his resignation from the Ludonautics consultancy firm he established with Liverpool’s former director of research, Ian Graham, kicks in – Edwards becomes the de facto head of Liverpool FC, answering to the FSG board but now in place of Mike Gordon as the day-to-day boss at Anfield. It’s quite the promotion.
The 44-year-old, though, has spent years justifying such faith and even if he has rarely gone public with his own thoughts and feelings, his actions have more than said enough during that time.
Such is the former Tottenham analyst’s standing within the game itself that a meeting with a Premier League counterpart a few years back was said to have led to the opposite number bowing at his feet in appreciation for some of the deals Edwards had been able to secure for Liverpool and FSG were quick to lay the garlands at the returning man’s door themselves in their Tuesday press release.
“Michael is one of the most formidable executive talents in world football and John (Henry), Tom (Werner), and I are absolutely thrilled to have secured his services for our business,” said Mike Gordon, who is now stepping back from overseeing the day-to-day running of Liverpool following Edwards’ comeback.
Klopp added: “I think it is a top solution, honestly, and our conversation was obviously great. We spoke about a lot of things, about what I think about different things, players, stuff like this, situations in the club because I was here all the time when he was not, what did change, what might have to change. It was a really good talk, and it’s top news for the club.”
Plans for a ‘multi-club’ model is understood to have appealed hugely for Edwards and it will be fascinating to see how those tentative plans formalise in the coming weeks, months and years. It’s a controversial decision by the American owners, it must be stressed, but how it plays out from theory to practice remains to be seen.
For those connected only to Liverpool, however, it’s easy to see why Edwards is so vaunted. Whereas the measure of success for managers and players is easier to pinpoint, the role of the sporting director is often, perhaps crudely, boiled down simply to the performance of transfers and Edwards enjoyed a wildly successful period between 2016 and 2022 on that score, signing some of the greatest players of the 21st century at Anfield, those who have lifted every major trophy in the last five years.
Life after Klopp is understandably a scary prospect for plenty of supporters as the club moves forward beyond one of the greatest managers ever on Merseyside but with Edwards in situ, the first significant building block is in place for the new structure FSG always wanted built before turning their attention towards the man who succeeds the current boss.
The expected appointment of Richard Hughes, from Bournemouth, intrigues. The Cherries’ sporting director announced his decision earlier this month to leave at the end of the season and he is set to be Edwards’ first port of call to take over his former role at Anfield.
Hughes will come with a wealth of experience and as a highly-regarded operator for what he did at Bournemouth, helping establish them as a stable and secure Premier League club on something of a shoestring budget and some of the smallest revenues in the division.
Hughes was responsible for luring Andoni Iraola to the Vitality last summer and his contacts book, particularly in the region of Spain, could yet prove to be vital given what might be to come at Liverpool.
While Edwards was always viewed as being ahead of the curve and possessing something of a Midas touch by Reds supporters, the reality is the wide-ranging number of contacts he had within the game – from agents to sporting directors and chief executives – was key and Hughes holds a similar reputation in recruitment circles.
A development that will surely pique the interest of supporters is that Hughes enjoys a good relationship with the agent of Bayer Leverusen coach Xabi Alonso, having worked with Inaki Ibanez during the deal to bring Iraola to the south coast last year.
How much of a difference that could yet make in Liverpool’s pursuit of Klopp’s replacement is not totally clear but Edwards was able to pull off many of his “masterstrokes” – to quote one club source – through the use of his own contacts and friendships.
It would be no surprise at all if Hughes continued in the same vein once in the Liverpool saddle. After all, Edwards has already proven how much can be gleaned through those healthy working relationships.
Post-season Liverpool is starting to slowly look less daunting but much work is still to be done behind the scenes with Edwards now tasked with landing his biggest ever recruit: the man who replaces Klopp.