President of FIFA Sepp Blatter yesterday said the Liverpool FC ownership saga should stand as a warning to other clubs considering selling out, and backed the fans’ right to protest.
Bought little more than a year ago by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Liverpool are currently in the throes of seeing Dubai International Capital (DIC) attempt to become a shareholder.
As the Daily Post exclusively revealed on Saturday, Gillett has agreed to sell 49% of his stake to DIC and allow Hicks to buy his other 1%.
However, the prospects of sealing the deal were thrown into doubt after Hicks’s fury at DIC’s chief negotiator Amanda Staveley, whom he alleged had leaked a private letter detailing the deal.
Hicks’s representatives are still likely to meet DIC executives in the Middle Eastern state this week to discuss how the two might work together in a joint ownership.
Sources said Hicks’s anger had not ended the possibility of a deal, but admitted last night there was likely to be little movement this week.
The agreement would see Gillett walk away with £40m profit in cash and up to £40m in the future, dependent on the success of Liverpool.
Hicks would pay £500,000 for Gillett’s 1% share, to become a majority shareholder in the club.
A statement from Hicks said: “DIC is one of several potential minority investors we are or will be talking to.
“As for Amanda Staveley, who has a reputation for being pretty smart, she should know better than to publicly put words in my mouth – particularly words that she knows or should know perfectly well aren’t true.
“She should also know better than to release actual copies of my private correspondence to the press.”
But a source close to DIC said: “This letter has not been leaked by DIC or any of our negotiating team to the media.
“We do not expect any problems with the meetings next week, and we expect the deal to buy George Gillett’s stake to go through.”
Hicks is clearly upset that there are suggestions that although he will buy 1% of Gillett’s stake, that is the beginning of a process which will see DIC eventually buy out the Texan.
He remains adamant he has a veto over who Gillett sells to, and which, contrary to reports, is not time-limited.
Yesterday, Blatter was asked whether Liverpool’s situation should be a warning to other clubs.
He said: “Yes, definitely.
“You get investors, because a club is a good investment – and they come and if the results are not as such as they have expected, they go away.
“This is definitely a risk in all the clubs. But, as long as they have so many investors, and specifically in the English Premier League, it is a fashion to buy a football club.
“At a certain time, they wanted to have a Formula One team or they had a personal golf course or they had horses – and now it is football. That’s good for football, but the community of football should pay attention to such a situation.”
Blatter can understand Liv- erpool fans mounting pro- tests: “I like it. They did the same at Old Trafford two years ago, but they are still going to the stadium to watch the matches,” he said.
“We have to take care first of the game, but it can only be done with the understanding of everybody.
“Concerning the big clubs and the money, this is a problem which has nothing to do with sport; this is econ- omic mechanism and activities, where we have very little to say.”
Bought little more than a year ago by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Liverpool are currently in the throes of seeing Dubai International Capital (DIC) attempt to become a shareholder.
As the Daily Post exclusively revealed on Saturday, Gillett has agreed to sell 49% of his stake to DIC and allow Hicks to buy his other 1%.
However, the prospects of sealing the deal were thrown into doubt after Hicks’s fury at DIC’s chief negotiator Amanda Staveley, whom he alleged had leaked a private letter detailing the deal.
Hicks’s representatives are still likely to meet DIC executives in the Middle Eastern state this week to discuss how the two might work together in a joint ownership.
Sources said Hicks’s anger had not ended the possibility of a deal, but admitted last night there was likely to be little movement this week.
The agreement would see Gillett walk away with £40m profit in cash and up to £40m in the future, dependent on the success of Liverpool.
Hicks would pay £500,000 for Gillett’s 1% share, to become a majority shareholder in the club.
A statement from Hicks said: “DIC is one of several potential minority investors we are or will be talking to.
“As for Amanda Staveley, who has a reputation for being pretty smart, she should know better than to publicly put words in my mouth – particularly words that she knows or should know perfectly well aren’t true.
“She should also know better than to release actual copies of my private correspondence to the press.”
But a source close to DIC said: “This letter has not been leaked by DIC or any of our negotiating team to the media.
“We do not expect any problems with the meetings next week, and we expect the deal to buy George Gillett’s stake to go through.”
Hicks is clearly upset that there are suggestions that although he will buy 1% of Gillett’s stake, that is the beginning of a process which will see DIC eventually buy out the Texan.
He remains adamant he has a veto over who Gillett sells to, and which, contrary to reports, is not time-limited.
Yesterday, Blatter was asked whether Liverpool’s situation should be a warning to other clubs.
He said: “Yes, definitely.
“You get investors, because a club is a good investment – and they come and if the results are not as such as they have expected, they go away.
“This is definitely a risk in all the clubs. But, as long as they have so many investors, and specifically in the English Premier League, it is a fashion to buy a football club.
“At a certain time, they wanted to have a Formula One team or they had a personal golf course or they had horses – and now it is football. That’s good for football, but the community of football should pay attention to such a situation.”
Blatter can understand Liv- erpool fans mounting pro- tests: “I like it. They did the same at Old Trafford two years ago, but they are still going to the stadium to watch the matches,” he said.
“We have to take care first of the game, but it can only be done with the understanding of everybody.
“Concerning the big clubs and the money, this is a problem which has nothing to do with sport; this is econ- omic mechanism and activities, where we have very little to say.”
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