Former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton said he did ask a number of “foreign billionaires” about a potential investment in the Reds.
Broughton was involved in one of the failed bids for Chelsea, which included Crystal Palace co-owners Josh Harris and Harris Blitzer. When asked if they were invited to join a new consortium to buy Liverpool, Broughton replied:
“I didn’t speak to Josh Harris and David Blitzer, as they have gone back to Crystal Palace, but I did speak to the other people in our consortium and Chelsea I spoke to, in case there was an interest in becoming a co-investor, not to acquire, but to become a co-investor. But they are already foreign billionaires with a pad in Knightsbridge or Chelsea or Kensington and they came to London fairly regularly and when they came to London it was to watch Chelsea.”
“So they are all Chelsea fans and not in the 68-year way going down there to watch them in the way I am but that is their team and they enjoy going down there. They were attracted by the idea of investing in a football team and Chelsea specifically. When I approached them about Liverpool – and I didn’t approach them about Manchester United, I would never approach them about Manchester United – but the result would have been the same.”
“[They would say] ‘well I’ve got a pad in London.’ So that’s not the type of person that is going to come in really at Liverpool. So I wasn’t keen enough to go out and search for investors, new investors again. I think if anybody wanted my assistance in it, I would be willing to consider it but not actively.”
It seems like Broughton has given up finding any prospective buyers for the Merseyside club at this stage. The main stumbling block appears to be Liverpool’s geographical location more than anything else.
In terms of other bidders, the issue that Fenway Sports Group have been having is finding investors who are willing to be minority shareholders.
Combined with the high valuation they have placed on the team, it seems that it isn’t the right economic climate for a sale to happen, especially with Manchester United also on the market at the moment.