Nobody saw this one coming.
There’s no doubt about it, the Chinese have been really buying into football lately. If it’s not the never-seen-before wages being offered to some of the world’s big name players by Chinese Super League clubs, it’s the money being poured into European clubs by Chinese investors.
In December, Manchester City struck a deal with China Media Capital and only last month recently relegated Aston Villa were snapped up by businessman Tony Jiantong Xia.
Now, it seems Liverpool could be on the brink of a takeover from China with a report claiming an investment group supported by the country’s state government is attempting to purchase them for £700m.
The Independent claim that Liverpool’s current owners, Fenway Sports Group, were made aware of the proposal from the SinoFortone group in March.
SinoFortone have already committed a whopping £5.2billion towards new projects in the UK in the last year alone. Now, it seems like they’ve earmarked Liverpool as their next investment.
Despite the recent stadium improvements at Anfield, it’s also stated that the group have started to investigate the possibility of a new stadium in the docklands area of Liverpool. They would also like to redevelop the club’s Melwood training ground and install a series of football academies across China.
Despite the offer, it’s thought FSG are reluctant to sell Liverpool. Under Jurgen Klopp’s guidance, John W. Henry is said to believe Liverpool are on the cusp of an exciting new era. Added to this, a new Premier League TV rights deal is said to massively inflate the value of its clubs.
The bidder specialises in the construction of large-scale infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, seaports, airports and powerstations across China and in the Middle East.
It is reported that SinoFortone see Liverpool as an attractive proposition due to the club’s stature and history, but also because the city is home to Europe’s oldest Chinese community.
