The Liverpool takeover might have hit a stumbling block, with one former Reds chairman suggesting the asking price is far too high
(Image credit: Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)
Liverpool are looking for new owners – but may have bitten off far more than they can chew.
The Reds were put up for sale by Fenway Sports Group back in November, with the American owners looking for investment. Part of the reported reasoning for floating a sale was the purchase of Chelsea by Todd Boehly for around £4 billion, with FSG valuing their own asset similarly.
There are groups said to be interested in Liverpool from Qatar and the US, though one former chairman who oversaw the sale to FSG has now claimed that Liverpool won't be able to command nearly as much money for their club as Chelsea went for.
Liverpool owner John W. Henry meeting with Jurgen Klopp ahead of the 2022 Champions League final (Image credit: Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
"I would question whether they'll [United and Liverpool] get the kind of prices they floated," Sir Martin Broughton told The Telegraph.
"With Chelsea – and I think Arsenal and Tottenham would fall into the same category – the people we spoke to tended to be overseas billionaires who had a pad in London and the pad in London was in Knightsbridge or Kensington, Chelsea or something.
"So when they came to London, they went to Chelsea. They were football fans, and they were Chelsea fans... they're not going to be bidders for Liverpool or Manchester United because they've got a pad in London and they're not planning to move their pad to Manchester or Liverpool."
Now, recent reports have indicated that the Merseysiders could look for minority stakeholders rather than selling the club as a whole.
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Former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton says his former club won't be able to get £4bn for their sale
"Liverpool will be best off taking in co-investors to ensure the current owners can work alongside them and be satisfied that these are the right people," he said. (Image credit: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
"Liverpool will be best off taking in co-investors to ensure the current owners can work alongside them and be satisfied that these are the right people," Broughton continued.
"As I understand it, they [FSG] are interested to see what the market reaction is. They could be willing sellers. They could be willing to have investors, but if they carry on owning it, that's fine too. That's my understanding of their position."
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
