Liverpool are reportedly being lined up for a huge attempted takeover bid from a mega-rich member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, of which Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour is also a part.
The story comes from the Daily Star and it is suggested that the un-named bidder has £700m ready to spend on purchasing the Anfield club from current owner John Henry and his Fenway Sports Group.
The tabloid newspaper actually stated that the identity of the alleged potential buyer is a “closely guarded secret”, but have hazarded a guess anyway as to who it could possibly be.
Their dart landed on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has been serving as the president of the United Arab Emirates since 2004 and has an estimated personal fortune in excess of $43bn. That makes him significantly richer than City chief Sheikh Mansour, his half brother, whose wealth comes in at just under $29bn.
It’s not the first time that the Reds have been linked with a national leader, with Thaksin Shinawatra attempting to buy the club while he was serving as Prime Minister of Thailand before later taking control of Manchester City instead.
The Star has been peddling this Liverpool takeover story for several weeks, claiming on 1st April (no, it wasn’t an attempt at an April Fools’ prank) that talks were already underway.
But despite the vast claims – the fact that Sheikh Khalifa’s involvement is a mere guess anyway is a big red flag – it still feels somewhat unlikely that FSG would actually sell.
The Boston based company have seen the value of the club more than double since they bought Liverpool from fellow Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2010 and are at the start of something potentially very special as
Jurgen Klopp continues to settle into his Merseyside surroundings, combined with the mass influx of even more television money into the Premier League next season.
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