After early reports of interest in buying Liverpool from a Saudi-Qatari consortium, this has now been corroborated by a reliable source.
Fenway Sports Group are currently weighing up various avenues for investment into Liverpool, including the possibility of an outright sale.
The club’s owners have been in place since 2010, but are believed to be considering their options in the wake of the Super League fallout and amid a growing financial gulf at the top end of the Premier League.
Man City and Newcastle are both state-funded, which has been the source of major criticism from within the sport, including Liverpool supporters.
Those fans may be confronted with a difficult scenario, as Liverpool journalist David Lynch, writing for US-based outlet Sporting News, claims investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar are “strong early contenders.”
“Investors from the two Gulf states have agreed to join forces so as to avoid becoming embroiled in a bidding war for ownership of the six-time European champions,” Lynch writes.
“They are preparing an initial bid in the region £3.2 billion, and their vast shared wealth puts them in a commanding position as they look to complete an Anfield takeover.”
Lynch adds “although the two parties involved are described as private investors, strong links to their respective states inevitably exist,” with sources “confident those relationships would withstand sufficient scrutiny to be signed off by the FA.”
This comes after similar claims from Al Bawaba and, subsequently, the Mail, though Lynch explains that the Saudi-Qatari consortium is not the only interested party.
They are in contention with a German group and investors from the US, the latter of which has been reported by the John W. Henry-owned Boston Globe.
It has been maintained that FSG would only sell to the right buyer, and it is doubtful that, ethically, investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar would fall into that bracket.
These claims should certainly be taken with a pinch of salt, despite the source, as Liverpool are expected to attract any number of would-be ‘buyers’ with no real intention of purchasing the club.
As it stands it seems more likely that, as reported by the Boston Globe, a minority stake will be sold to investors from the US, rather than the club being sold outright.
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