FSG's talks over a £1.35 billion minority investment from a consortium led by Amit Bhatia have been unfolding for weeks, with Jeff Bezos among those approached to join the group.

Now, former Liverpool CEO Peter Moore has offered his clearest assessment yet of why one figure in the negotiations could matter more than the rest. Speaking to the ECHO in New York, Moore drew a sharp line between the two figures who appear to be at the centre of the story.

One, in his view, is a genuine football man. The other, he suggested, probably isn't serious at all.

Why Peter Moore Believes Jeff Bezos Isn't Liverpool's Ideal Investor

Moore's read on Bezos was blunt: "The Bezos thing to me is a red herring." It was about whether Bezos actually wanted to be involved. He pointed out that Bezos has never invested in a sports franchise despite years of being linked to NFL bids.

He also suggested that an approach from a Silicon Valley consortium reaching his inbox is a long way from him actually saying yes.

Moore also floated a more mischievous theory, joking that Bezos's involvement would bring a level of media attention FSG could probably do without. He pointed to the prospect of Lauren Sanchez turning up at Anfield as the kind of distraction that would inevitably follow.

FSG, in his telling, wants investors who understand football's culture and are willing to get involved properly, not a name attached for headlines.

"Jeff has never shown any interest, and even if he did, if he put in one percent of his net worth that he is going to throw in here, and he can bring his wife, Lauren Sanchez, to Anfield, where she can come to Anfield and the cameras will be on her, and she can have a right great time.

"You don't want or need that [if you're FSG], so the Bezos thing to me is a red herring."

Why Moore Sees Amit Bhatia As A Credible Liverpool Investor

Moore was more serious about Amit Bhatia himself. He pointed to Bhatia's 17 years in QPR's boardroom as proof of his long-term commitment to football, regardless of how that time at Loftus Road actually played out.

Bhatia also brings serious financial backing through his father-in-law's family, the billionaire Mittal steel dynasty, which funds the consortium alongside his own football background. Moore treated that combination as a genuine football experience.

And his real capital is the reason to take Bhatia's side of this deal seriously, regardless of what happens with Bezos.

Why Peter Moore Still Backs FSG's Ownership Model

Moore didn't just assess the investors; he defended the ownership they're negotiating with. He recalled living through Liverpool's FSG Out period as CEO, when frustrated fans wanted what he called an oil sheikh instead.

"I lived through the 'FSG Out' period. And no matter how many games we won, it was always furloughing, trademarks, all the drama we went through, the Super League - which was after my time, but [some fans used to say] 'we need an oil sheikh'. I am not sure we do."

Moore argued that Profit and Sustainability Regulations have fundamentally changed the equation. In his view, even the wealthiest investors can no longer pour unlimited money into a club, making FSG's sustainable model more relevant than ever.

He credited current CEO Billy Hogan's commercial operation specifically for generating the revenue behind last summer's spending. Moore said the scale of that investment "shocked the heck out of everyone," without breaking FSG's financial discipline.

"And we have it now, Liverpool have it now, to the credit of (CEO) Billy Hogan and his team, a commercial machine that drives revenues to go and spend money on players, which we saw last summer, which shocked the heck out of everyone.

"So from that perspective, we have that luxury to be able to do it now. Whether they do it every summer, we'll see. But Billy and his team have built an amazing commercial machine that gives us the latitude to do that."

Whatever happens with Bezos, Moore's actual argument was less about any one billionaire and more about the ownership group already in place, one he called "phenomenal" compared to other owners he'd encountered in football who were, in his words, in it for different reasons entirely.