Liverpool Owner John W. Henry 'Entertaining Offers' as He Sets Price for Reds
Liverpool owner John W. Henry has surprisingly been tipped to sell the Reds and has reportedly 'quietly signalled' that he is ready to listen to offers for the five-time European champions.
Billionaire Henry, who also owns newly crowned World Series winners Boston Red Sox, acquired Liverpool from fellow Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2010.
Jan Kruger/GettyImages
His tenure has seen major investment in Anfield and the playing squad in recent seasons, which culminated in Liverpool reaching the Champions League final in May and beginning the current campaign as a strong contender for the Premier League title.
But it appears he is ready to call it a day on Merseyside and withdraw his Fenway Sports Group if a suitable buyer can be found.
According to the New York Post, Henry has launched a 'passive sales process'. That means he isn't actively seeking a buyer, yet he is said to be 'privately entertaining offers' in what is being described as an 'informal' setting. The asking price is said to be 'north of $2bn' - £1.54bn.
"It's for sale if he can get the right price," the NY Post article even quotes one source as saying, while the article claims that two other unquoted sources have 'essentially' said the same thing.
One alleged motivation for wishing to sell could be recent losses incurred by the Red Sox, exacerbated by a reported 'luxury tax' on the baseball team's enormous payroll, although any connection between that and selling Liverpool remains speculative for the time being.
Liverpool have previously been linked with would be buyers from Abu Dhabi - specifically Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahayan, cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour - and China.
Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
When rumours of a failed £2bn takeover bid from Sheikh Khaled recently emerged in August the official line appeared to be that Liverpool was not for sale and only open for outside investment. Whether that stance on a full sale has changed remains to be seen, but the NY Post article cites a source declaring, "This is not fake news".
