Liverpool's former chairman says he is heartbroken and feels let down by the Americans who bought the club from him last year.
David Moores, who retains his seat on the board, said Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. misled him about not burdening the Reds with debt and warned that their feud risks turning English soccer's most decorated club into a laughing stock.
Breaking a year-long silence, Moores said he was enraged when the Anfield civil war intensified Thursday with Hicks demanding the resignation of long-serving chief executive Rick Parry.
Gillett came out in support of Parry, widening the public rift between the co-owners.
"It's heartbreaking. I'm almost lost for words about the damage that's being done to the club at the present time," Moores was quoted as telling Saturday's edition of the Liverpool Echo.
"I do feel let down. With everything that's going on, I have to feel let down. This is not how I foresaw it and I'm sure it's not how the fans foresaw it.
"If I could have afforded to take the club forward I would have done, but I couldn't. I didn't have the sort of money you need for a new stadium and 30-40 million pounds a year for new players.
"So I had no option. I would love to still be in charge but I would have held the club back."
Moores sold his controlling 51 percent stake in the club to the duo before last February and the club's remaining shareholders later sold their stock.
"They talked about putting the money in and the new stadium and having no debt on the club," he said. "At the time I think we all felt it would be a good deal but it's not all materialized."
Gillett and Hicks bought Liverpool for £218.9 million in March 2007, which included an agreement to pay off about £45m of debt and a pledge to build and finance a 60,000-seat stadium.
When the loan used to buy Liverpool was refinanced in January, the club was burdened with debt topping £105m.
Gillett wants to sell his 50 percent stake to an oil-rich Dubai consortium, but Hicks has threatened to veto the deal because he wants overall control. Dubai International Capital has been unsettled by the uncertainty and has halted talks for now.
"It needs to be resolved as quickly as possible," Moores said. "The two owners don't agree on a way forward and unity is essential.
"They have got to stop thinking of themselves and start thinking of the club, its values, its traditions and its heritage. They have to do what is best for the club and get it sorted as quickly as possible because what is happening at the moment is not doing it any good."
The strife is distracting attention from the bid to capture a sixth European Cup.
Liverpool beat Arsenal 5-3 on aggregate Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third time in four years.
"We should now be focusing on continuity, stability and working our socks off towards enjoying what will hopefully be a super night in Moscow," for the Champions League final, Moores said.
"But when things are played out like they are at present, it virtually makes the club a laughing stock and that's not acceptable."
David Moores, who retains his seat on the board, said Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. misled him about not burdening the Reds with debt and warned that their feud risks turning English soccer's most decorated club into a laughing stock.
Breaking a year-long silence, Moores said he was enraged when the Anfield civil war intensified Thursday with Hicks demanding the resignation of long-serving chief executive Rick Parry.
Gillett came out in support of Parry, widening the public rift between the co-owners.
"It's heartbreaking. I'm almost lost for words about the damage that's being done to the club at the present time," Moores was quoted as telling Saturday's edition of the Liverpool Echo.
"I do feel let down. With everything that's going on, I have to feel let down. This is not how I foresaw it and I'm sure it's not how the fans foresaw it.
"If I could have afforded to take the club forward I would have done, but I couldn't. I didn't have the sort of money you need for a new stadium and 30-40 million pounds a year for new players.
"So I had no option. I would love to still be in charge but I would have held the club back."
Moores sold his controlling 51 percent stake in the club to the duo before last February and the club's remaining shareholders later sold their stock.
"They talked about putting the money in and the new stadium and having no debt on the club," he said. "At the time I think we all felt it would be a good deal but it's not all materialized."
Gillett and Hicks bought Liverpool for £218.9 million in March 2007, which included an agreement to pay off about £45m of debt and a pledge to build and finance a 60,000-seat stadium.
When the loan used to buy Liverpool was refinanced in January, the club was burdened with debt topping £105m.
Gillett wants to sell his 50 percent stake to an oil-rich Dubai consortium, but Hicks has threatened to veto the deal because he wants overall control. Dubai International Capital has been unsettled by the uncertainty and has halted talks for now.
"It needs to be resolved as quickly as possible," Moores said. "The two owners don't agree on a way forward and unity is essential.
"They have got to stop thinking of themselves and start thinking of the club, its values, its traditions and its heritage. They have to do what is best for the club and get it sorted as quickly as possible because what is happening at the moment is not doing it any good."
The strife is distracting attention from the bid to capture a sixth European Cup.
Liverpool beat Arsenal 5-3 on aggregate Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third time in four years.
"We should now be focusing on continuity, stability and working our socks off towards enjoying what will hopefully be a super night in Moscow," for the Champions League final, Moores said.
"But when things are played out like they are at present, it virtually makes the club a laughing stock and that's not acceptable."
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