New Liverpool vice-chairman Amit Bhatia has described his involvement in the club as "the stuff of dreams" but acknowledged he is taking on an "enormous responsibility" at Anfield.
Earlier this month, it was announced that a consortium led by Bhatia -- named 1892 Holdings -- had acquired a minority stake in Liverpool. The consortium also includes billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as well as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Sources told ESPN the minority stake, worth just over £2bn, is in the region of 38%. While principal owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) retain operational control of Liverpool, Bhatia will sit on the club's newly-expanded board and is set to be in attendance at Anfield this weekend for the Reds' Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest.
"It feels incredible," Bhatia told club media on Friday. "It feels surreal when I hear those words, obviously an incredibly proud moment for myself, for my family, for our partners. We're talking about Liverpool Football Club here, right? I mean, we're talking about the greatest football club in the world. And so to have the ability to be involved in any capacity is a huge privilege and a huge honour.
Liverpool will face Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images "I'm just the biggest admirer of everything that is associated with this football club, whether it's the history and the culture, the supporters, the journey of this club, the owners in FSG, the management team at Liverpool. There's just so much to admire, so much to frankly be in awe of.
"And so to have the opportunity at this point in time, to hopefully potentially -- I want to just be very clear, subject to all kinds of regulatory approvals that we're going through the process [of] now -- but the simple fact that we've been potentially welcomed in by FSG to be part of such an incredible football club, a historic football club, an iconic football club like Liverpool, frankly it's the stuff of dreams. And it is the greatest honour I think that anybody can have."
British-Indian millionaire Bhatia is a former investment banker whose father-in-law, Lakshmi Mittal, is an Indian steel magnate with a net worth estimated at more $30bn (£22bn). The 46-year-old spent 18 years as a director and co-owner of Queens Park Rangers before stepping down last month.
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