Sir Martin Broughton has shared what Liverpool chairman Tom Werner privately told him about Fenway Sports Group’s stance on a potential takeover of the club.
Speaking in an interview with the Liverpool Echo, the former Reds chairman claimed that FSG are in no rush to sell the Merseyside outfit.
Instead, he believes Chelsea’s overall sale for £4.25bn has led them to test the waters.
“I was surprised but not astonished when I heard,” Broughton said. “They have shown with Boston [Red Sox] that they are in it for the long term, they are not short-term investors going in for the short term and flipping three, four or five years.
“They have been here 13 years now and they saw the Chelsea deal and I think certainly realised that prices were maybe higher than they had in their mind of the increase in value that they had during that time, so [they said]: ‘Why don’t we test the market?’
“I spoke to Tom Werner and asked him were they seeking to sell? Were they seeking investment? What was the objective? And he said: ‘There isn’t one. We’re testing the water. If there is an offer that is a very high figure then we’d be daft not to look at it.
“‘If there is an investor that wants to come, we’d certainly be willing to look at that and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if we didn’t get either and we continued to hold it. We’re comfortable with that too. So it wasn’t that we have got an exit plan, it was more that testing the markets to see what is out there.'”
FSG are in no rush to sell
This isn’t what Liverpool fans would have been hoping to hear.
After years of being starved of a top team’s transfer budget, when FSG put the club up for sale, it was almost a huge sigh of relief.
The idea of new investors who would be willing to back Jurgen Klopp in the transfer market was an exciting prospect for supporters.
However, if John Henry and co are in no rush to sell, Liverpool could be stuck with their US owners for a while longer yet.
As a result, this could mean more transfer windows without backing, despite the imperative need for a squad rebuild.
If the Reds are to get back to where they belong challenging for the Premier League title, it will be crucial to invest in new players, as many options in the current squad may be past their best.
Therefore, this may not be good news for the Merseyside club.