Liverpool owner John Henry says that he is not selling the club.
Reds owners Fenway Sports Group were revealed back in November to be searching for investment into Liverpool as they sought to recapitalise the business ahead of a potentially costly time, but with sales deck prepared for interested parties they were also reportedly open to a full sale.
The Reds, valued at around $4.5bn, have been heavily linked with potential bids from groups across the globe, including Qatar, but the sources in the US who the ECHO have spoken to have continued to maintain that they had not received any bids or held high level talks over a sale, and that a minority sale to a 'strategic partner' was the most likely outcome.
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Henry, who rarely speaks in public, allowed for some questions via email from Boston Red Sox reporters ahead of the first day of spring training in Florida, where he, wife Linda, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner and FSG CEO Sam Kennedy were present. And in the responses posed to questions from Boston Sports Journal writer Sean McAdam, Henry confirmed that FSG were not selling Liverpool.
"I know there has been a lot of conversation and quotes about LFC (Liverpool Football Club), but I keep to the facts: we merely formalized an ongoing process," he said.
"Will we be in England forever? No. Are we selling LFC? No. Are we talking with investors about LFC? Yes. Will something happen there? I believe so, but it won't be a sale. Have we sold anything in the past 20+ years?"
Henry's comments confirm the stance that ECHO sources have maintained throughout, while offering some more certainty moving forward after a spell of tumult on and off the pitch.
Liverpool rivals Manchester United are currently in the process of a potential deal to sell the team, with the Glazer family having received two bids for the club, one from INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and another from from chairman of the Qatari bank QIB, Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
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