Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has admitted he would be interested in buying Liverpool if his bid to takeover Manchester United ends in failure.
The Helsinki-born businessman, whose net worth is not publicly known but is believed to be less than rival Red Devils bidders Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, claimed earlier this week that he had submitted a bid to buy United.
Chairman of the social media group novaM Group, he has submitted an offer through XXI Century Capital - an investment firm owned by his holding company. And the 69-year-old wants to buy half of the club with the other half bought by fans, who would be able to buy a stake in the club and have an equal say in decision-making via an app.
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Zilliacus said his offer is based on United having a current market value of "just under 3.9 billion US dollars" (£3.17bn). The Glazer family are demanding £6bn to sell the club.
But while the Finn is currently pursuing the Red Devils, he has admitted he could switch attentions to Liverpool if his takeover bid ended in failure. FSG had previously been open to a full takeover at Anfield, but have since clarified that they are only searching for new investors.
"Look, we would definitely be exploring other options," Zilliacus told journalist Ben Jacobs when asked if he could move for Liverpool instead. "And my brother-in-law would be very happy because his team is Liverpool.
"Yes, we would be looking at other opportunities and we have been looking at other opportunities earlier also. Definitely if this, for whatever reason is one where the sellers say “No, we are not interested in what you are offering. We want to go with somebody else,” then we have to look elsewhere."
Zilliacus has previously been chairman of Finnish side HJK Helsinki and is a current owner of Finland’s six-time ice hockey champions Jokerit.
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