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Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the owners of Liverpool, have put the club up for sale, according to David Ornstein. FSG have owned Liverpool since 2010 and have led the club through its most successful phase in modern history.
They have made several revolutionary changes at the club, including bringing in Jurgen Klopp as the manager in 2015. Liverpool won the Champions League in the 2018-19 season and the Premier League title the following year. They also won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup last term.
Despite their successes, FSG have now decided to call it a day on their stint as owners of the Merseyside club. It is going to be a massive move as the club have benefited greatly from FSG both on and off the pitch.
Liverpool are an exciting prospect for potential buyers. They don't have any debt and have a renovated stadium in addition to a new training ground. As such, there are no expensive projects that new owners will need to plow money into in the near future.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five potential buyers for Liverpool.
#5 Norway Sovereign Fund
The Norway Sovereign Fund represents a much more acceptable option than potential buyers from the Middle East with regards to the club's ethos. The Merseysiders have a huge fan base in Scandinavia.
Norway is a country that has a sovereign wealth fund and is known for being ethical in their political dealings. Former Liverpool striker Stan Colleymore alluded to the same in his column on CaughtOffside. He wrote:
“Liverpool have a large fan base in Scandinavia and Norway in particular that fly to games.
"I think if Liverpool and FSG were clever, instead of saying they’re going to sell to the Saudi’s for example, go around to countries who have sovereign wealth fund but also have ethical ways of dealing with their politics, which Norway certainly does, and ask if they want to buy Liverpool."
#4 Bahrain Sovereign Wealth Fund
FSG reportedly received a £3 billion bid for Liverpool in 2021 from an unnamed Middle Eastern party. However, they rebuffed the offer before deciding to join hands with other elite clubs in an attempt to kickstart the European Super League.
There are claims that the Bahrain Royal Family was the same Middle Eastern party that was interested in buying the Merseyside outfit. According to iNews, the Bahrain Sovereign Wealth Fund Mumtalakat manages $18 billion worth of assets.
Mumtalakat already holds a majority stake in the McLaren Group and its Formula One team. Ligue 2 side Paris FC are also under their management and if they decide to throw their hat in the ring, they could become serious contenders in the race to buy Liverpool.
#3 Mukesh Ambani
Could the Indian billionaire finally get his wish and end up becoming the owner of the Premier League giants? Mukesh Ambani's coffers certainly have enough and more gold to pull it off. The Indian business tycoon is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd. He has a net worth of $91.9 billion.
It was rumored that FSG rebuffed Ambani's approach to buying the club multiple times. He already owns Mumbai Indians, a cricket team in the Indian Premier League. As such, he is no stranger to doing business in the sporting world.
Ambani has the financial capacity to inject the amount of money they would need to pose a threat to Manchester City.
#2 Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Could Britain's richest man make Liverpool the third football club that he owns? Sir Jam Ratcliffe has a net worth of around $11 billion. He was interested in buying Chelsea in the summer before Todd Boehly bought the Blues.
Ratcliffe definitely has deep pockets and the desire to buy a Premier League team. The only impediment seems to be that Ratcliffe is a lifelong Manchester United fan. He also revealed that he was interested in buying United in the summer but the club were not up for sale.
The Old Trafford faithful continue to pile pressure on the Glazers to sell the club and Ratcliffe is one of the potential buyers. Ratcliffe might not want to buy Liverpool as they share a heated rivalry with the Red Devils.
In an interview with The Athletic earlier this year, Ratcliffe said:
“I’m a lifelong Manchester United fan. I was there in that most remarkable match in 1999 in Barcelona. That is deeply etched in my mind."
#1 Dubai Royal Family
This one will divide opinions and justifiably so. The prospect of the Dubai Royal family buying Liverpool presents a moral dilemma. They have been interested in Liverpool for a long time now and were very much in the race to buy the club in 2006 until Tom Hicks and George Gillett beat them to it.
The silk-stocking royals could match FSG's asking price, but a large section of Liverpool fans are against the idea. Dubai is one of the world's most undemocratic nations. The idea of the club effectively being owned by a dictator has put off a lot of fans and it is very understandable.
However, if the Dubai Royal Family does end up buying the club, Liverpool will have no trouble matching Manchester City's spending and ambition.
