Thursday, March 05, 2009

Outgoing Chief Rick Parry Wants To Stay In Football After Liverpool FC Exit


Outgoing Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry wants to stay in football and maintain his involvement in the European game.

The 54-year-old will leave Anfield at the end of the season after 12 years at the club after a breakdown in his relationship with co-owner Tom Hicks.

Now Parry is considering his future, and cannot imagine it will not be involved in the sport in some way.

Parry said: “Do I think I (still) have something to offer? Yes. I think it is inconceivable I will not have something to do with the game.”

Parry had been linked with the position of Football Association chief executive, although admits he has so far had no offers.

He is also a board member of the European Club Association - a lobby group that was started last year and represents more than 130 teams.

The organisation will next meet on March 17, where Parry’s imminent departure will be discussed.

The ECA also need to find a replacement for former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon, who resigned in January.

Parry would like to stay on until the end of his Liverpool tenure and would be interested in remaining on the ECA board “under the right circumstances”. For that to happen, he would need to be affiliated to another of the group’s 137 member clubs.

He said: “The organisation has real potential. It is fledgling but it is a kind of new beginning towards a better relationship (with football’s authorities).”

Parry confirmed that he has no plans to leave his Liverpool post early.

He said: “I am staying as long as the owners want me and that is until the end of this season. I have got no plans to leave earlier than that.”

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