Following claims the Qatar Sports Investments group were “considering” a move to buy Liverpool, a Times journalist has quashed speculation.
On Monday, a report from United States business news company Bloomberg reported plans for the Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) group to invest in a Premier League club.
Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi is said to have met with Tottenham counterpart Daniel Levy, while the group are claimed to be “considering” bids for Liverpool and Man United.
The group, which also owns Paris Saint-Germain and recently purchased a minority stake in SC Braga in Portugal, are certainly wealthy enough to meet the demands of both Fenway Sports Group and a transfer-hungry support.
But suggestions that the Qatari organisation could buy Liverpool from FSG have already been denied by the Times‘ Martyn Ziegler.
Writing on Twitter on Monday evening, Ziegler explained that “Qatar Sports Investments have ambitious plans but understand not looking to invest in Man United or Liverpool at the moment.”
In his report for the Times, it is rightly pointed out that QSI could not complete an outright purchase of any other major European club due to their controlling stake in PSG.
While there are no rules to outlaw owning multiple clubs, UEFA stipulates that no two clubs controlled by the same owner can compete in their competitions – such as the Champions League.
There are certainly ways around this, as RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg have shown, but their participation was first subject to an investigation from UEFA to ensure no parties from the Red Bull GmbH were operating both clubs.
Either way, it appears that QSI can now be ruled out of any purchase of Liverpool, and it seems unlikely they would be interested in a minority stake.
There have already been reports of a Qatari-Saudi consortium interested in the club, however, along with suitors from Germany and the United States.
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