LIVERPOOL are searching for a new billionaire owner.
It was revealed on Monday morning that Fenway Sports Group have surprisingly put the club up for sale.
Principal owner John W Henry and chairman Tom Werner have decided the time has come to sell up after 12 years in command.
Now Liverpool supporters, players and manager Jurgen Klopp will be wondering who is set to take over at Anfield.
Anyone wanting to throw their hat into the ring will be shown a full sales presentation.
A number of billionaire consortiums are understood to be interested in buying the club, with FSG revealing they have previously been sounded out in the past.
An FSG statement said offers will be considered if they are “in the best interests of Liverpool”.
And SunSport has come up with five people who could afford the club and have previously shown interest in purchasing a Premier League side.
Here they are…
SIR JIM RATCLIFFE
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is Britain’s richest man – worth an estimated £15billion.
He already owns Ligue 1 side Nice, Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport, and cycling team Ineos Grenadiers.
Earlier this year, the Knight of the Realm bid to buy Chelsea but failed to secure a deal as Todd Boehly took over from Roman Abramovich.
He then claimed he had wanted to buy Manchester United from the Glazers, but revealed they were not interested in selling.
MUHSIN BAYRAK
Muhsin Bayrak is a Turkish billionaire who made his £8bn empire as chairman of his own company AB Group Holding – which has invested in tourism, cryptocurrency and construction.
Bayrak claimed earlier this year that he was negotiating with Abramovich over the purchase of Chelsea – with the Russian even reportedly flying to Turkey to meet him.
Before Boehly swooped in, Bayrak told Turkish outlet Yeni Safak: “We are negotiating the terms of the purchase of Chelsea with Roman Abramovich’s lawyers.
“We are in the negotiation phase for the signatures. We will fly the Turkish flag in London soon.
“We made our offer. Because of the war with Russia and Ukraine in the world. Because they find Turkey safe, they want to get most of the after-sales money in Turkey. We are planning to sign soon.”
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BILLY BEANE
American Billy Beane made his name as a baseball player before turning his hand to business where he used his famous “Moneyball” approach as general manager of Major League Baseballâs Oakland Athletics.
He teamed up with US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners to try and buy Chelsea earlier this year, but came up short.
However, perhaps most importantly when it comes to his possible purchase of Liverpool, Beane already has an 11 percent stake in Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group.
This could mean selling the club to him is the most simple way forward.
Beane is said to be worth around £3bn.
ELON MUSK
One of the more familiar names on this list is new Twitter owner Elon Musk.
The 51-year-old, who is thought to be worth a staggering £175bn, declared an interest in purchasing Manchester United earlier this year.
Back in August, he simply tweeted: “Also, Iâm buying Manchester United ur welcome.”
Now he could be set to add Liverpool to his recent acquisition of Twitter.
An unpredictable businessman, it would not surprise anyone if the Tesla and SpaceX man swooped in for the Merseyside club.
LEBRON JAMES
Surprised? Well, let us explain.
NBA legend LeBron James bought a two per cent stake in Liverpool from FSG back in 2011.
Now they are set to sell the club, it remains to be seen whether James will try to increase his ownership or pull out altogether.
However, he is only worth around £1bn, so a wholesale takeover would appear unlikely.
