‘Liverpool FC in Middle East takeover talks’
A SECOND major North West football club could be set to be bought by fabulously wealthy Middle Eastern investors.
According to reports Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett are in talks with Kuwait billionaire Nasser al-Karafi over a possible £550m deal.
Mr al-Karafi has an estimated fortune of £9bn and heads one of the biggest business empires in the Middle East, with interests as diverse as consrtruction to owning franchises for Pizza Hut and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
The Gillett-Hicks regime at Anfield has not been a roaring succeess. There have been clashes with manager Rafael Benitez, open criticism of chief executive Rick Parry from Hicks, and concern about funding for the club’s plannned new stadium.
Arabian investors are drawn to the Premiership because of the global exposure it brings.
In August last year Manchester City became the world’s richest football club after being bought by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, one of the world’s richest men, in a £220m deal.
