Twist in ‘Pool sale as Syrian tycoon says price agreed

THE future of Liverpool appears far from clear after one interested party distanced himself from an official bid and another claimed they were on the verge of completing a deal.

Chinese businessman Kenny Huang seemed to be in pole position on Tuesday after approaching the club’s major creditors RBS about taking over Liverpool’s £237 million (€286m) debt to them. His interest was passed on to Barclays Capital, who are handling the sale by the club’s co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and it then emerged there were five or six other groups considering offers.

However, yesterday Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi, who represents a group of investors from the Middle East and Canada, claimed a price had been agreed and a formal purchase agreement “is in the final stage of negotiation”. Much the same noises were made by Kirdi’s representatives in April and no deal was done, and he has been dealing with Hicks and Gillett rather than through Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton, who has been detailed to sell the club.