Reports in this mornings papers say that the Al Kharafi family of Kuwait are in talks to purchase Liverpool FC for the princely sum of £600m, or six Kakas if you believe Man City's valuation.
Nasser Al Kharafi is the worlds 48th richest man and apparently his fortune of about £8 billion seems to be burning a hole in his pocket.
Remember, this is the same group who were interested in buying Liverpool and Newcastle at different times last year but pulled out of both bids.
It's no secret that the financial crisis has hit George Gillett and Tom Hicks (the American owners of Liverpool) hard and they will struggle to gain the bank support they need to refinance the nearly £300 million loan used to purchase Liverpool in February 2007.
The suggested sale price would allow them to walk away from Liverpool having doubled their money in less than two years.
So, the pros and cons as I see it:
Pros:
- Liverpool will get their new stadium at Stanley Park, a project which has become ever the more tenuous in the past six months.
- Financial clout in the transfer market. Although this isn't 100% assured.
- An end to the infighting and uncertainty of the Muppett Show of Gillett and Hicks.
Cons:
- Yet another billionaire owner in the EPL adding to over-inflated salaries and transfer fees.
- With a new owner, they may demand more input, a la Abramovich. Gillett and Hicks have so far kept their nose out of team selection. Admittedly that's probably because they think a sweeper is what you use to clean the streets.
- Liverpool still in foreign hands. Not really a big deal in my opinion as that's already the case.
- Yet more ownership speculation in the final stages of a promising campaign.
So what do you think? Would this deal send yet another club down the slippery slope of relying on their owners personal wealth? Or, is this the future of the EPL, where the only way to be successful is to have a wealthy benefactor?
We're going to send you the most entertaining Liverpool articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
19 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete