Liverpool may soon be up for sale after owner John W Henry ‘quietly signaled’ he is willing to relinquish control of the Anfield club.
According to the New York Post, Henry and Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are currently ‘running a passive sales process’ for Liverpool.
In short, the paper report that he is entertaining offers in private, and would only accept a price north of $2billion.
A source is alleged to have said: ‘It’s for sale if he can get the right place.’
While that price would result in a huge profit for FSG, they bought Liverpool for £366m in 2010, and a world record fee for a sports francise, it appears to undervalue Liverpool.
According to the Daily Mail in England, Liverpool were offered £2B by the cousin of Manchester City owner Sheik Mansour in late 2017 and into early 2018.
The newspaper reports that Sheik Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan, an Emirati member of the family who govern Abu Dhabi, was the behind the takeover attempt, with a minority partner from China.
However, a Liverpool spokesperson on Friday completely dismissed the report, insisting the club is not for sale and describing speculation suggesting otherwise as “unfounded”.
“As loathed as we are to give a story of this nature a meaningful response, on behalf of the club’s ownership I can completely dismiss this unfounded speculation,” a spokesperson said.
“To repeat once again, the club is not for sale, including any ‘quiet process’ or anything of that nature.”
Despite the PR statement, it is clear from the meetings that FSG were interested in hearting what Sheik Khaled had to say and offer and I would not be surprised to see a higher big forthcoming from either Sheik Khaled, or another Middle East party.
