Former Liverpool player Stan Collymore has told Fenway Sports Group how they can get supporters behind them as the club’s owners.
Writing in his column for CaughtOffside, the pundit has claimed the Reds’ owners should sell a minority stake in the club to a country like Norway, as the ethical money coming in would get fans back on their side.
“There’s the elephant in the room for Liverpool Football Club, the owners. I think there’s an easy solution and that’s FSG either sell a minority stake in the club to an external buyer or selling the club to a buyer with the kind of resources that Newcastle and Manchester City have,” he wrote.
“Liverpool have a large fan base in Scandinavia and Norway in particular that fly to games. I think if Liverpool and FSG were clever, instead of saying they’re going to sell to the Saudi’s for example, go around to countries who have sovereign wealth fund but also have ethical ways of dealing with their politics, which Norway certainly does, and ask if they want to buy Liverpool.
“Liverpool then get the funding they need moving forward and that’s the way I think football clubs can match the clubs with Middle Eastern influence.”
Collymore says FSG should sell Liverpool to Norway
Whilst Collymore isn’t really known for his insightful takes on modern-day football, this may not actually be a horrendous idea from the former Reds striker.
With the level of wealth now in the English game, alongside the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid abroad, Liverpool cannot compete with teams who have endless money-pits.
Even compared to owners of other Premier League clubs, FSG are one of the worst when it comes to putting their hands in their pockets and splashing out in the transfer market.
The arrivals of Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker should never be placed in the same category as some of Man City’s spending, as these transfers have purely been funded the sale of previous players. For example, Philippe Coutinho’s £142m move to Barcelona.
However, with the level of controversy currently surrounding Newcastle’s owners, it is unlikely fans would back a similar takeover at Liverpool.
Therefore, Collymore’s suggestion that a country well-known for its ethical practices should buy the club, is actually an interesting proposition.
The Merseyside outfit would be backed financially in the transfer market, and the club would not have to deal with the backlash that would otherwise arise.
Whether this is an actual possibility, remains to be seen. But this certainly isn’t the worst take Collymore has ever had.
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