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It's been a busy week in the news for Liverpool's upper management. First, it was revealed that Ian Ayre will leave the club at the end of February to join 1860 Munich, followed by this week's double whammy of Bill Gates' supposedly being approached before FSG back in 2010, and FSG — in a shockingly disrespectful move — doing their due diligence before purchasing the club the same year. Tonight, the club reports that it has appointed Markus Breglec as its new marketing director. Anything to keep the club's results out of the papers, then.
Mr. Breglic has spent the past 19 years as a marketing strategist for the likes of Nike, Sony, Adidas, and, most recently, HTC. He will spend his days in the newly created position creating strategies to drive growth, purportedly with fan engagement a fundamental part of the process.
“I am very excited to join Liverpool FC and with it the greatest and most deeply connected football family," said Breglec during his unveiling. "The Reds are the beating heart in world club football with an unprecedented fan connection, amazing history and great future ahead. I very much look forward to further help grow the club, drive innovation and engage supporters globally.”
“Marketing is a critical element of our commercial success and ultimately grows the club which enables us to support our on pitch ambitions," managing director and chief commercial officer Billy Hogan added. "The primary focus for Markus will be to bring the club closer to our hundreds of millions of fans around the world. He has proven expertise which makes him a leader in his field and we’re delighted that he will be joining us.”
Unsurprisingly, a statement from a commercial officer on a marketing hire contains a plethora of incidental management speak that gives little indication of the potential impact of the whole ordeal. Nonetheless, fans, both those with YNWA in their Twitter handles and those without, will hope that any of Breglic's future accomplishments off the pitch will benefit the club on it.