Liverpool have reacted to reports of a world-record takeover bid by the cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour. According sources, Sheik Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan made a number of approaches with regards to buying the club ‘over the course of several months’ in 2017 and 2018.
The discussions resulted in a £2billion offer – one which ‘would have constituted the most expensive takeover in the history of football’.
Sheikh Khaled, whose proposal was in conjunction with ‘a minority stake Chinese partner’, valued Liverpool at £200,000 more than Stan Kroenke’s recent valuation of Arsenal. Manchester United are listed on the Stock Exchange at £3.1bn.
Liverpool insisted on Thursday evening that talks ‘eventually failed’, and while Midhat Kidwai, ‘the managing director of Sheik Khaled’s conglomerate of companies’ met with chairman Tom Werner, it was simply part of the standard vetting process.
“FSG have been clear and consistent in their stance that the club is not for sale,” a Liverpool spokesperson said.
“What the ownership have said – again clearly and consistently – is that ‘under the right terms and conditions we would consider taking on a minority investor, if such a partnership was to further our commercial interests in specific marketplaces and in line with the continued development and growth of the club and the team.’”
The report add that Fenway Sports Group ‘are actively seeking investment to transform the club into a superpower capable of rivalling the world’s richest both commercially and in the transfer market.’ So that’s fun.
Manchester City had earlier received a bid from Real Betis for central-midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Spanish Liga side have made an offer of £10.8m which will be paid in three instalments and will see them give City a 20% sell-on clause should be moved on from Betis in the future.
Zinchenko joined City from FK Ufa in 2016 and has gone on to make 14 appearances in all competitions. The 21-year-old spent his debut season with the Sky Blues on loan at PSV Eindhoven, making 17 appearances for the Dutch Eredivisie outfit. He’s struggled for playing time under Pep Guardiola due to the stiff competition in defence and midfield.
The Ukrainian international’s 14 City outings have been exclusively at left-back, covering for the then-injured Benjamin Mendy last season. However, with Mendy, Fabian Delph and Danilo as options on the left, Zinchenko has little opportunity of getting regular first-team football at the Etihad Stadium.
Zinchenko has made only six Premier League starts and will want more competitive minutes on the pitch, but he has already turned down a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers so he may not be open to joining Betis either. Time will tell.