LIVERPOOL owners Fenway Sports Group have surprisingly put the club up for sale.
Principal owner John W Henry and chairman Tom Werner have decided the time is right to sell up after 12 years in command.
The ownership group are now inviting offers for the club, according to The Athletic.
Anyone wanting to throw their hat into the ring to buy Liverpool will be shown a full sales presentation.
A number of billionaire consortiums are understood to be interested in buying the club, with FSG revealing they have previously been sounded out in the past.
An FSG statement said offers will be considered if they are “in the best interests of Liverpool”.
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Reports suggest it’s currently unclear whether or not a deal will be struck.
Banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will help with the process.
An FSG statement to The Athletic said: “There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumours of changes in ownership at EPL clubs and inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group’s ownership in Liverpool.
“FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool.
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“FSG has said before that under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club.
“FSG remains fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch.”
Reports only last year claimed a £3billion bid from the Middle East had been rejected by FSG.
And now it’s claimed they could end up selling for over $5BN (£4.4bn).
Head of Sport Analysis at GlobalData, Conrad Wiacek, said: “Given the sale of Chelsea in the summer of 2022 reached $4.15 billion (£3.6m), the sale of Liverpool could reach in excess of $5billion (£4.4bn), with the club generating over $160 million (£140m) from its sponsorship deals for the 2022-23 season alone.
“The objection of fans to the proposed European Super League meant it was unlikely that FSG could turn Liverpool into the cash cow it hoped it could become by competing with the likes of Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City, Saudi-backed Newcastle United and the commercial dominance of rivals Manchester United.
“This is likely behind the company’s decision to sell. With FSG having eyes on an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, it may be the ideal time for it to cash out.”
FSG bought Liverpool from controversial American owners George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks back in October 2010.
They sold an 11 per cent stake worth £655million to investment firm RedBird Capital Partners last year.
RedBird then became majority owners of Serie A giants AC Milan in August of this year.
Liverpool have won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Club World Cup and the League Cup twice during FSG’s tenure.
That success, apart from the 2012 League Cup triumph, is largely down to Jurgen Klopp, who FSG appointed as boss in 2015.
While off the pitch they have overseen the redevelopment of the Main Stand at Anfield, which set them back £110m.
The Anfield Road stand is currently being redeveloped too at a cost of £80m.
When that is complete the overall capacity will be around 61,000 – 16,000 more than what it was when FSG took over.
They also funded the £50m move to the new state of the art AXA Training Centre from their old Melwood base.
Liverpool originally signed up for the failed European Super League plot last year but withdrew following fan backlash.
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Earlier this year chairman Werner claimed FSG were still fully committed to the club.
The American told The Athletic: “Yes, we still see it as a long-term project. We are hungry to win more trophies for the club.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
