Billy Beane EXCLUSIVE: The Moneyball man who inspired FSG, Michael Edwards and Liverpool FC's transfer genius

Matt Addison speaks to Moneyball pionner Billy Beane, the man who inspired Liverpool's transfer recruitment strategy with his work with the Oakland Athletics baseball team, for an exclusive podcast. Beane is baseball's version of Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards, and was the first to put data, analytics and science into gaining marginal advantages in the transfer market – something the Reds have pretty much perfected in recent years. Beane is the man that Liverpool have looked to follow, so he is the perfect person to shed light on an area that the club try to keep secret. Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson are just three examples of how the Reds have used Beane's technique to unearth undervalued gems, and he gives Blood Red a fascinating insight about how the process works. The 58-year-old, who was played by Brad Pitt in the film Moneyball, is a close personal friend of Liverpool owner John W Henry and FSG chairman Tom Werner, while he also knows the club’s ex-sporting director Damien Comolli. Beane provides insight into all three of them, plus current sporting director Edwards, in a rare behind-the-scenes look into FSG and how the Americans, who also own the Boston Red Sox, operate. Enjoy.

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