Following his claim that he offered to assist Fenway Sports Group in their pursuit of investment into Liverpool, Martin Broughton was seen at Anfield.
Broughton previously served as chairman of Liverpool during the period that led to the sale of the club to FSG in 2010, before being succeeded by Tom Werner.
His time at Anfield was brief but influential, and the British businessman has since been involved in various other ventures including a bid to purchase Chelsea in 2022.
Earlier this month, Broughton gave an interview to the Telegraph in which he revealed he had made early contact with FSG when their plans to potentially sell Liverpool emerged.
“I did one or two inquiries with people that I thought might be interested but it didn’t go any further,” he said.
“So now I’m just looking at it with a keen interest.”
It was interesting, then, that Broughton was spotted in the stands attached to Anfield’s executive boxes during the 2-0 victory over Everton on Monday night.
There is no indication yet as to why the 75-year-old was in attendance, though he is a noted Chelsea supporter with no other ties to Liverpool.
However, one of the parties involved in Broughton’s consortium during the process of bidding for Chelsea were Josh Harris and David S. Blitzer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
Harris and Blitzer were the principle backers within that consortium, and though they are minority shareholders in Crystal Palace, they are known to be pursuing other investment options in the Premier League.
The American businessmen each purchased an 18 percent stake in Palace in 2015, but last year The Athletic reported that “the suggestion has been that, should they need to, they would be able to divest their Palace shareholding swiftly.”
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment are one of the groups now reported to be interested in Liverpool, and were described as “genuine suitors” in November.
The Athletic‘s Matt Slater has now reiterated their interest, claiming that “some of the losers in the Chelsea process are interested in buying stakes in either Liverpool or Man United,” with Harris and Blitzer “at the front of that particular queue.”
On Monday night, the Telegraph‘s Sam Wallace reported an imminent bid for Man United from the Qatar Investment Authority, and though interest has been mooted, a Qatari takeover at Liverpool seems unlikely.
Though it is pure speculation at this stage, with reports indicating that FSG are more open to a minority investment, perhaps Broughton’s presence at Anfield was no coincidence.
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