The famous English Premier League powerhouse Liverpool has finally made a major breakthrough after its majority shareholder, Fenway Sports Group, announced its intention to sell the team in November last year. According to Mohammed Saeed Alkaabi, a well-known Qatari media personality, the Qatari consortium has taken the lead in the race for the "Reds" and is expected to take over the team soon, with a deal that could amount to as much as 4 billion pounds (about 38 billion Hong Kong dollars). Qatar has been strong in soccer in recent years, not only creating the "dream team" Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), but also successfully hosted the World Cup, and is now aiming to return to the Premier League and make waves again.
Al Kaabi revealed, "The Qatari consortium has shown great interest in acquiring Liverpool and is in a good position to compete, but as of now, the two sides have not reached a final agreement." It is reported that the main difference between the two sides is the acquisition price. According to Forbes, a leading U.S. financial magazine, estimated in May last year, Liverpool's value of about 3.89 billion pounds, the Qatar consortium proposed to 3.5 billion pounds to buy, while Liverpool's class owner, the U.S. Fenwick Sports Group, asked for 4 billion pounds. Qatar has a history of being generous, and it is expected that the £500 million difference in price should not be a problem.
In October 2010, Fenway Sports Group acquired Liverpool for a mere £300 million, and now whether it sells for £3.5 billion or £4 billion, it could reap a return on investment of more than 10 times that amount. In addition to the Qatari consortium, a consortium from Saudi Arabia, another Middle Eastern country, also covets control of Liverpool.
Saudi Arabia's performance in this year's World Cup has been remarkable, including the defeat of Argentina, its club Ainas is to 173 million pounds a year salary to sign the Portuguese star C Lang, coupled with the Saudi sovereign fund has a stake in Newcastle, so that the "magpies" this season's results by leaps and bounds. Therefore, the country's consortium to take over Liverpool seems reasonable.
Liverpool is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of the competition between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. This means that the change of ownership of the team will give them "unlimited funds" for reinforcements, and the Reds are in dire need of rebuilding after a poor season. Coach Gopp has his eye on Dormont midfielder Zudi Binningham, a 19-year-old England international who is valued at 120 million pounds. If the Reds can get financial support from the Middle East consortium, buying any player will no longer be a problem, and the team will then have enough money to compete with strong rivals such as Manchester City and Arsenal.
