POOL are in talks to sell to the world’s 46th-richest man
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LIVERPOOL are in talks to sell the club to billionaire Kuwaiti businessman Nasser Al-Kharafi — the world’s 46th-richest man.
The Kop kings sent financial chief Philip Nash and commercial director Ian Ayre to the Middle East this week for discussions over a possible £400million deal. An Anfield insider confirmed: “Talks are ongoing but there is real hope this could finally be the answer to all the club’s problems — on and off the pitch.”
Al-Kharafi had negotiations with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley only three months ago about the likelihood of a £300m Toon buy-out, which ultimately came to nothing. And his cousin came close to snapping up Liverpool last November, when both sides agreed a £500m asking price only for the credit crunch to send the deal crashing.
Now Al-Kharafi has re-emerged as the potential saviour of a Liverpool club which has been wracked by off-field controversies since Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett arrived in a £219m deal in February 2007.
Liverpool have offered 64-year-old Al-Kharafi, who has a £12billion fortune, a 50 per cent stake. Hicks and Gillett would reduce their share to 25 per cent each. But the Kuwaiti business supremo, married with five children, is pushing for overall control before agreeing to a deal that could be worth £400m.
Liverpool have been beset by headaches ever since David Moores sold to the Americans instead of Sheikh Mohammad’s DIC group two years ago next month. Sheikh Mohammad now insists he has lost interest.
Hicks and Gillett have since refinanced the Merseysiders to the extent that debts stand at £350m and plans for a state-of-the-art, 73,000 all-seater stadium on Stanley Park have ground to a halt.
After the Americans suspended work on the construction in the wake of the credit crunch, a growing number of fans began to believe the project would never get off the ground.
Now those dreams, and the prospect of being able to bid for the biggest names in the football world, are alive and kicking again. Al-Kharafi’s fortune comes as president of the MA Al-Kharafi and Sons Group, one of the largest diversified conglomerates in the Arab world.
It includes a massive food division, Americana, which has exclusive Middle Eastern franchise rights for brands such as Pizza Hut, KFC, Wimpy and TGI Friday’s.
Further investments include the National Bank of Kuwait.
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Can you play well when your manager's as well as club's future is in doubt? These all have came at the wrong time.
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yeah... too much off the field distraction
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another owner who deals in oil...n carries oil-stained cash w him..
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Originally posted by AEW5001:
another owner who deals in oil...n carries oil-stained cash w him..
Lets face it, in the coming times, the only people who are gonna stay rich are them bloody oil mongrols -
say all the bad things u want about oilman.. but they are still getting the $$ from ur pockets
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sian, why is 46th? not one of the top 10s?
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it is always disturbing to see a big club prostituting itself to get cash....
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Originally posted by Chris88110:
Lets face it, in the coming times, the only people who are gonna stay rich are them bloody oil mongrols
ya, cant help it -
all these middle east tycoons anyhow go buy over epl team.
then all bankrupt then epl die sia.
they thought buy toys ah.