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.
"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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Reflecting on how involved he expects to be in the day-to-day running of Liverpool, Bhatia said: "I think again it's very important to emphasise that we're going through a regulatory process. That regulatory process is under way and we have to be incredibly respectful of that process.
"So it's important to say that, number one. Number two, I think it's important to be very clear that this club remains under the ownership of FSG. FSG are the decision-makers and this is their ownership. They have invited us and we're very fortunate to be a partner as a minority alongside them.
"And so my involvement really, or our involvement really, would be in any capacity that FSG felt that we could be useful to them. So, subject to regulatory [approval], in any capacity that FSG wants us to be involved, in any way that they think that we can add value for the betterment of the football club, is how we will make ourselves available at all times.
"We come from different geographies, we come from different professions, and hopefully with that you bring different experiences and ideas, different thoughts. If we are called upon, if there's any area that we have this expertise in or that FSG would like to discuss with us, our thoughts or our involvement, we would absolutely be there.
"We believe that the potential for the football club is still vast ahead of us and we have had some discussions with FSG as to those thoughts.
"And hopefully if everything goes well, our association with the club will also be for a very, very long period of time. And so as and when we can see those opportunities and we feel that they're in the best interests of the football club, as an entire group we'll come together and try to support in the best way that we think we can.
"And so that's very exciting to think about, because as I said, the potential is enormous. And we're very excited to see what the future holds for us in that regard."