Liverpool owner John Henry is reportedly considering parting ways with the Merseyside club if he can get the right price, estimated to be $2 billion.
According to a report by the New York Post, Liverpool have been quietly put on the market by their billionaire owner John Henry. The American business tycoon will sell the Merseyside club if he can secure the right price to part ways with it, and is running a “passive sales process”.
The Fenway Sports Group – John W. Henry’s holding company – owns Liverpool since October 2010. The association of the American owners has not always been a healthy one, with Henry & co. often copping flak from the Kop over their transfer policy and a reluctance to invest in the early days of their ownership of the Merseyside club.
But, over the last few years, and particularly since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, there has evidently been a change of heart from FSG over their willingness to pay the big bucks in a changing transfer market.
The Liverpool owners seem to have given their complete backing to the incumbent manager in a bid to create a squad worthy enough of competing for major honours and bring the glory days back to Anfield. Their willingness to invest heavily has had positive consequences, with the Reds reaching the Champions League final last season.
Liverpool have been on song at the start of the 2018-19 season as well, going toe to toe with Manchester City in the Premier League title race while being in a healthy position to progress to the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.
But, the latest bit of news comes as a bit of a shock for those who have seen John Henry having a positive outlook towards taking Liverpool forward. The Boston Red Sox owner has “quietly put the club on the market”, and will be open to parting ways with it if he manages to recoup an agreeable sum.
The report suggests that Henry wants over $2 billion in exchange for the Merseyside club, which will be a huge profit on his initial $477 million outlay to buy the Reds in 2010. This stance though, comes as a bit of a surprise, considering FSG rebuffed several attempts to sell Liverpool in big money deals in recent years.
In fact, for a long time, the FSG’s official stance was that Liverpool were not for sale, which makes their openness to part ways with the club a little perplexing. While the reasons for the change in stance has not been mentioned, the report suggests that Henry is only engaging in a “passive sales process”.
It has also been mentioned that the club are unlikely to be sold anytime soon, although the $2 billion valuation does suggest that it is a possibility. It will be interesting to see if any suitors emerge to buy Liverpool anytime soon, or if FSG continue to remain the club’s owners.
