Liverpool owner John Henry met with boos as he breaks…

Liverpool owner John Henry met with boos as he breaks three-year silence

Liverpool principal owner John W. Henry was met with boos as he appeared to speak in front of Boston Red Sox fans for the first time in almost three years on Friday night.

Fenway Sports Group chief Henry, 72, was appearing on stage at the Red Sox's Winter Weekend event in Springfield, Massachusetts, an event that was designed to be a feel-good chance for fans to connect with the team ahead of the beginning of Spring Training at the beginning of March, the pre-cursor to the start of the Major League Baseball season.

Henry had not appeared in person in front of fans to speak publicly since FSG faced considerable ire from Red Sox fans for the trading of star Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2020, his only other public comments coming when he delivered an apology to Liverpool fans for his part in dragging the club into the failed European Super League saga.

He was appearing on stage alongside the Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and team manager Alex Cora, and it was the owner who faced the anger of a fan base that has, like Liverpool fans across the Atlantic, been frustrated by the perceived lack of investment in the on-field product when compared to their rivals.

The boos arrived when the softly spoken Henry, who so often eschews the glare of the media spotlight, stated that the reason for high ticket prices at Fenway Park was that "baseball players are expensive."

The statement angered the Red Sox fans in attendance, some vociferous in their displeasure that an ownership group whose empire is worth $10bn was unable to compete with the other big market franchises when it comes to spending on talent.

Henry was able to placate the crowd to some degree towards the end of the event when he reaffirmed the group's commitment to Boston, and to winning in Boston, after being presented with the question around where their priorities lay when having other major commitments such as Liverpool and the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as a potential NBA expansion franchise on the horizon in the next two years.

"I think it’s important to say that over the years, we’ve given everything that we can give to this franchise," he said. "We live and die every game.

"Look, I’ve had my share of disappointment… we’ve had quite a few. Often, those years have been a disappointment because we’ve been focused on what came next.

"You have to make decisions. You have to let players go sometimes. That’s very, very tough. It’s the worst part of this game… It really sucks. I just want to let you know that we think about everything that happens here. We’re fully invested, not just monetarily, we’re fully invested in wanting to win championships. I promise you."

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner, speaking at a Red Sox press conference earlier this month to announce the new $313m contract for Rafael Devers, said that there was no intention for FSG to sell their stake in the baseball team whose home stadium the ownership group took their name from.

FSG are, however, willing to listen to offers for Liverpool, but only at the right price and it remains, as has been the case for some time, that a partial sale to a "strategic partner" is the preferred outcome.

Rumoured interest and bids from Qatar saw social media ablaze in recent days, although well-placed sources in the US with intimate knowledge of the situation have told the ECHO that there is still no bid that has been received for the Reds, as of this week, and that there had been no serious expressions of interest presented to FSG yet that warranted any high-level consideration.

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