Flailing Liverpool may get UAE sheikh boost
Dec 15, 2009
ABU DHABI - Liverpool Football Club, a long-time target for Middle East investors, could get an injection of cash from an influential sheik in the United Arab Emirates, according to an official.
Members of the ruling family of Ras Al Khaimah, one of seven sheikdoms in the U.A.E., hope to meet with the club's U.S. owners George Gillet Jr. and Tom Hicks to discuss investing in the English Premier League side, a senior official in the emirate, with knowledge of matter, told Zawya Dow Jones.
Liverpool's owners "may be coming next week," to discuss a deal, the senior official, who declined to be named, said. Ian Cotton, Liverpool FC's director of communications, said, "at the moment, we are not commenting on this speculation." A spokeswoman for Tom Hicks couldn't immediately confirm a planned trip.
The funding could help the Anfield-based club compete for new playing talent in the January transfer window, when European clubs are permitted to trade players.
Liverpool has lost ground on better funded teams like Chelsea Football Club and Manchester City Football Club when competing for the world's best players.
It's also struggling on the pitch. Liverpool was last month eliminated from the lucrative UEFA Champions League, costing the club an estimated GBP10 million on its projected income from the competition.
Defeat against Arsenal Football Club Sunday has also raised the prospect of Liverpool missing out on next season's tournament entirely.
It's currently seventh in the English Premier League and must finish in the top four to earn a Champions League place, worth up to GBP25 million per season.