As part of its assessment of various options for investment in Liverpool, Fenway Sports Group is considering selling the club outright.
The club has been owned by its current owners since 2010, but they are reportedly considering their options in light of the Super League fallout and growing financial rift at the top of the Premier League.
Man City and Newcastle are state-funded, which has been the source of significant criticism from within the sport, including Liverpool supporters.
Those fans may be confronted with a complex 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 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 of £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 is expected to attract any number of would-be ‘buyers’ with no real intention of purchasing the club.
The Boston Globe reports that a minority stake in the club will be sold to US investors instead of the club being sold outright as it stands.
