The owners of the Boston Red Sox are set to buy Premier League club Liverpool.
The owners of the Boston Red Sox are set to buy Premier League club Liverpool.

Liverpool agree sale to Boston Red Sox owners



The Liverpool board have agreed to sell the Premier League club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV) for £300 million (Dh1.7 billion), the chairman Martin Broughton said today.

Current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett had been looking for about £600m, according to local media, and Broughton said the pair had broken written agreements in a boardroom battle that is complicating the sale.

The American duo instructed Barclays Capital in April to find a buyer and appointed British Airways chairman Broughton to oversee the sale.

“Part of the terms of me taking on the role was that they gave a written undertaking that only I could change the board ... and they also gave a written undertaking that they would not interfere and frustrate any reasonable sale,” Broughton told Sky Sports News.

“This is frankly a flagrant abuse of those two written undertakings.

“It was the last chance for them to leave Liverpool with their heads high. It’s a pity they’ve chosen to go this route.”

Yesterday, Hicks and Gillett sought to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the board, trying to replace them with Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon, in a bid to keep control of the club.

Broughton said the £300m price tag included £200m in writing down all acquisition debt and taking on some additional working capital debts and other liabilities.

The five-times European champions owe £237 million, mainly to creditors Royal Bank of Scotland who have set a deadline of October 15 for the debt to be refinanced.

Broughton said by selling to NESV, Liverpool should be able to emulate the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team, also owned by NESV, in turning around their fortunes on the field. He said there would be money for new players and to create a 60,000-seater stadium in a “short timetable” - whether it be a new ground or an expansion of Anfield.

“They (NESV) want to be judged by what they do rather than by what they say and can demonstrate what they plan to do by what they have done,” said Broughton.

“(The Red Sox was) a classic example of taking a very famous, traditionally historic major team which has seen better days and restoring them to their glory. I think it is a parallel which demonstrates action.

“Their mentality is all about winning. They have invested a lot of money in players there, they have committed to making the necessary investment in players at Liverpool.”

NESV is headed by John W Henry and Tom Werner. In 2004, two years after they took over the Red Sox, the team won their first World Series since 1918. They secured the title again in 2007.

Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool in February 2007 for £218.9m and have been unpopular with fans for burdening the club with debt, leaving little in the transfer pot to buy new players and strengthen the squad.

Liverpool, English champions 18 times, have made their worst start to a season in more than half a century.

The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT

Price, base / as tested Dh460,000

Engine 8.4L V10

Transmission Six-speed manual

Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km

THE BIO

Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist

Age: 78

Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”

Hobbies: his work  - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”

Other hobbies: football

Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club

 

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

INFO

Visit www.wtatennis.com for more information

 

WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
  • Drones
  • Animals
  • Fireworks/ flares
  • Radios or power banks
  • Laser pointers
  • Glass
  • Selfie sticks/ umbrellas
  • Sharp objects
  • Political flags or banners
  • Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The bio

Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district

Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school

Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family

His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people

Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned

Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books

if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

When to visit

March-May and September-November

Visas

Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.

Analysis

Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
THE BIO

Age: 30

Favourite book: The Power of Habit

Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"

Favourite exercise: The snatch

Favourite colour: Blue

THE%C2%A0SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.4-litre%20four-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Starting%20from%20Dh89%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Price: from Dh122,745

On sale: now