The Liverpool takeover saga could be truly kicked-off next month, as according to The Telegraph, formal bids are expected in February. Liverpool’s current owners, the Fenway Sports Group [FSG] had announced last year that under appropriate conditions they ‘would consider new shareholders’, though they ‘remained fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch.’
Interested parties around the globe quickly made movements as owning a club like Liverpool FC is once in a lifetime opportunity. Moreover, investment in football is reaping enormous rewards and the biggest billionaires are waiting to pounce on any potential prospect of taking over a football club. Also, the Gulf has built a reputation of being the unofficial leader of such takeovers, having already bought the likes of PSG, Manchester City and Newcastle United.
Qatar ready for another investment in football with Liverpool takeover in sights
The talks of Qatar wanting own a second football cub after PSG were sparked last week, when GOAL Arabia’s Qatari journalist Mohammed Saeed Alkaabi reported that the Gulf state has ‘prioritised the acquisition of Liverpool’. The Gulf is always waiting for such opportunities and the current market has served them with those too many.
Qataris are known for having their fingers in a number of pies, as they even tried to stage a Chelsea takeover when ex-owner Roman Abramovich was forced to put the club on sale. However, a consortium led by American billionaire Todd Boehly triumphed the Gulf state to Chelsea’s acquisitions. But just months later, Liverpool, followed by Manchester United’s owners too put the two clubs on sale.
Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy too has invited new investors. PSG’s Qatari owners, the Qatar Sports Investment [QSI] established quick contacts with Levy to propose themselves as potential stake holders of the North London outfit. Qatar is also eyeing Liverpool and Manchester United at the same time, as Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf nation has confirmed their interest in investing more in the sport.
While speaking to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Al-Mahmoud gave an insight on the Gulf state’s plans on acquiring another football club. Although he did not name a particular club where they will be putting their money, Al-Mahmoud’s statement was enough to transcend that Liverpool, Manchester United or Tottenham could be that next club. He told Bloomberg:
“Football, the clubs and the sport is becoming very commercialised in a way, especially now fans are looking into this as an experience, so they would like to and experience and entertain themselves. At the same time, digitalisation is becoming very important for this. So, the business model of these institutions is becoming very commercialised and very investment friendly. You will not be surprised if we invest in this.
“We have not made up our mind yet but this is a very commercially driven decision that we go through. And again, sports is becoming a very important theme as well, people are engaged more in a sport and digitalisation is making it more attractive to investors.”