‘We are not selling Liverpool’ – FSG chief John Henry provides damning sale update
Liverpool owner John W Henry has confirmed that he will not be selling the Premier League club, contrary to reports.
In November FSG announced it was looking at all options as the club bid to remain competitive in an environment in which the likes of Manchester City and Newcastle have access to huge financial resources from Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia respectively and Chelsea’s new owners have just sanctioned more than £500million of spending in two transfer windows.
In a question and answer session with the Boston Sports Journal conducted over email, Henry ruled out the prospect of FSG relinquishing ownership of a club it bought for £300million in 2010 and is now estimated to be worth more than 10 times that amount.
“I know there has been a lot of conversation and quotes about LFC but I keep to the facts: we merely formalised an ongoing process,” said Henry about November’s decision to explore the market for investors.
“Will we be in England forever? No. Are we selling LFC? No. Are we talking with investors about LFC? Yes.
“Will something happen there? I believe so, but it won’t be a sale. Have we sold anything in the past 20-plus years?”
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The Athletic reported in November that Liverpool would be sold if FSG received an offer in the region of £4billion ($4.8billion).
However, three months on, there were no sufficient offers to buy the club and the most likely outcome is now the sale of a small stake, the same outlet has confirmed.
The Telegraph also confirmed that there is ‘no doubt’ FSG ‘invited’ talks of a sale.
The difference between last year’s sale of Chelsea and the ongoing sale of Manchester United is that no deadline for bids was set.
Speaking earlier this season, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner insisted FSG should be in charge of the Reds for a while.
“We’re exploring a sale, but there’s no urgency, no time frame for us, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s business as usual,” Werner said in November.
“One outcome could be our continued stewardship for quite a while.”
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