Ogden: FSG ‘testing the waters’ of future Liverpool sale (1:23)Mark Ogden explains the latest news around a potential sale of Liverpool by owners Fenway Sports Group. (1:23)
The Qatari Royal Family is not interested in buying Liverpool despite reports suggesting it is in the running to purchase the Premier League club, sources have told ESPN.
Last month Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said American owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) was exploring the possibility of selling the club, 12 years after it completed a ?300 million ($358m) takeover of the Merseyside outfit.
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Sources believe Liverpool could attract offers of more than the ?2.5 billion that Roman Abramovich received for the sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital earlier this year, and there were suggestions the Qatari Royal Family — which already owns Paris Saint-Germain — could be interested.
But sources have dismissed those reports, saying that Qatar Olympic Committee president Sheikh Jooan Al Thani is not in talks to buy Liverpool.
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamas Al Thani, owns PSG through Qatar Sports Investment (QSI), the country’s state-run sovereign wealth fund, and sources have said QSI is fully focused on the Ligue 1 side.
Under UEFA rules, two Champions League clubs cannot be directly or indirectly controlled by the same entity.
QSI took over PSG in 2011 and is attempting to buy the Parc des Princes stadium from the City of Paris, while it is also looking for an investor to acquire between 10 and 15% of the club.
The sovereign wealth fund paid EUR50 million for PSG 11 years ago and the club is now valued at around EUR4 billion. PSG have won eight Ligue 1 titles since QSI’s takeover but have fallen short in the Champions League, losing the 2020 final to Bayern Munich.