Exclusive: Liverpool Raids Nike For Commercial Chief
Liverpool Football Club will announce tomorrow that it has raided Nike, the American sportswear giant, to recruit a new commercial chief ahead of the new Premier League season.
I've learnt that Liverpool will issue a statement to say that Graham Bartlett, Nike's sports marketing director for the UK and Ireland, will become its new commercial director.
He'll report to Ian Ayre, the club's managing director, and it's interesting because it's one of the most senior appointments made by Liverpool since the club itself changed hands in a disputed takeover last autumn.
Liverpool is now owned by New England Sports Ventures, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, and its future commercial success is seen as crucial to generating the kind of revenue that will allow it to compete in the transfer market against (principally) Chelsea and Manchester City.
The team is in Asia on a pre-season tour which has taken in China, Malaysia and South Korea. Its main sponsor is Standard Chartered, the Asia and Africa-focused bank headquartered in London.
Liverpool declined to comment tonight.
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