Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner talks about the potential sale of the club as FSG look for offers
The Athletic on November 7th reported that Fenway Sports Group (FSG) led by John W Henry are actively looking to sell Liverpool FC. Ever since then, there has been a lot of speculation over FSG’s successors and what the future holds for the club.
There have been no other statements from FSG apart from their initial declaration that they are looking for “stakeholders” and investors in the club. For the first time in the last few weeks, Liverpool Chairman Tom Werner has come out with a statement.
The consortium led by John Henry bought the club back in 2010 from Hicks and Gillett for merely £300m after the previous owners had almost driven the club into administration. With FSG at the helm, the Reds have grown back into the usual European superpowers they were back in the ’70s and ’80s.
Several reports also claimed that Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani was the front-runner to buy the club from FSG for a fee of £4b, but a statement from his group said that these reports were “fake” and ruled him out of the reckoning.
Club Chairman Tom Werner spoke about the situation, and here is his stance via Liverpool Echo:
“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,”
“One outcome could be our continued stewardship for quite a while.”
The Premier League’s last change in ownership was Chelsea. Roman Abramovic, due to the war situation between Russia and Ukraine was cornered to sell his club to American investor Todd Boehly. However, that scenario is much different than that of Liverpool as the current owners of the club are willing to look for suitable buyers.
Next step for Liverpool
The CEO’s statement means that in case FSG are unable to look for suitable buyers, they will continue to steward the ship of Liverpool for a while. In practicality, it seems a good decision for FSG to carry on, at least till the end of the season as it gives the Reds continuity until a substantial break in their campaign.
The fact that there is no urgency in carrying out the deal is also strategically smart. The Reds are one of the best teams in Europe, and the fact that they remain in the race to win the UEFA Champions League this season is something which could increase the Reds’ market value as well.
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Speaking of on-the-field matters, Liverpool won’t be in action until the 11th of December, when Jurgen Klopp’s men will take on Olympique Lyonnais in a club friendly in Dubai. Most Reds will be out for the World Cup, and hence, this will be a fixture with the players who won’t be featuring at the event.
