There are two key reasons behind Liverpool owner John Henry deciding the time is right to sell up at Anfield.
That’s according to The Mirror, who claim that the Reds owner has put the club on the market at a whopping £4bn.
Firstly, it appears as though last year’s Saudi Arabian led takeover of Newcastle has come into Henry’s thinking. FSG reportedly see it becoming ‘harder and harder to compete financially with state-backed clubs.’
Secondly, the botched European Super League idea is also said to have been the other big deciding factor.
There is a third reason too, though. Having bought the club for just £300m in 2010, Henry and FSG would be in line to receive an enormous profit from their investment. The recent sale of Chelsea that reached into the billions is claimed to have ‘turned his head,’ too.
What next for Liverpool?
For some Liverpool fans, this will be a red-letter day. Their American owners have been accused of a chronic lack of investment in the playing squad throughout their time at the club.
It’s true that FSG have often felt a little too cold and business-like for a club like Liverpool. But then again, the growth they have overseen at Anfield on and off the pitch is not by coincidence.
Either way, it now looks as though Henry and his colleagues will get the pay-day their cynics will say they were always looking for.
But what is the alternative here? Someday soon, Liverpool fans may look back on FSG’s reign with a little more fondness than they do now.
A new owner may well pump more money into the team, but at what cost? Under FSG, fans may not have liked it, but they knew their club was being well looked after.
There were rarely gambles that could threaten its very existence. Liverpool was, and still is, very much in safe hands.
As supporters who have felt the very real threat of administration in the not-too-distant past, some could be forgiven for being wary.
FSG haven’t gone just yet, but it feels like only a matter of time. Henry’s had enough. It begs the question, what next for Liverpool?
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