MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The owner of Liverpool confirmed on Monday that it is open to selling shares in the Premier League club amid reports it is inviting offers from potential buyers.
Fenway Sports Group (FSG) said in a statement that it remains committed to the club, which it bought in 2010 and has guided to a new era of success.
Responding to a report by the Athletic, which claimed Liverpool had been put up for sale, FSG said it would consider new shareholders.
“There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumors of changes in ownership at EPL clubs and inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group’s ownership in Liverpool,” it said in a statement. "FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool. 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.”
FSG bought Liverpool for just 300 million pounds ($343.5 million) in 2010, but the club could now be worth in the region of 4 billion pounds ($4.58 billion).
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital paid 4.25 billion pounds ($4.87 billion) to buy Chelsea in May, which was the highest amount ever paid for a soccer team.
Liverpool has a bigger stadium and more storied history as one of the most successful teams in world soccer, having won the Champions League on six occasions.
It has re-established itself as one of the leading clubs in Europe under FSG and won its first league title in 30 years — and 19th overall — in 2020.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has also helped the club win the Champions League, Club World Cup, FA Cup and League Cup since being hired in 2015.
But he has spoken publicly of the difficulty in challenging Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City in the transfer market.
“Nobody can compete with City in that,” Klopp said last month. “You have the best team in the world and you put in the best striker (Erling Haaland) on the market. No matter what it costs, you just do it ... What does Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It’s not possible.”
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson