Liverpool Bought by Red Sox Owners

There’s a new soccer team in Boston.  Well, not really- but New England Sports Ventures, the company that owns the Boston Red Sox, has just bought English Premier League side Liverpool FC for $477 million.  An agreement was reached over the selling of “The Mighty Reds” on Tuesday night.

Of course, Liverpool will not go into Red Sox hands without a fight.  Current Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. will likely challenge the deal in court.

Liverpool however, would be happy to see their co-owners go away.  Fans, players, and the Liverpool board alike have been particularly crude in their attutude toward their American co-owners.  In fact, Hicks and Gillett have run the club into so much debt, most of the money New England Sports Ventures used to purchase Liverpool will go towards paying for all the spending.

Hicks owned the Texas Rangers baseball team from 1998 to early-2010, before the team the team was forced to file for bankruptcy this summer.  In the thick of his free-spending days with the Rangers, Hicks, along with Gillett, acquired Liverpool in 2007 for $439.2 million.

But Hicks’ popularity didn’t last too long.  He promised silverware- Liverpool hasn’t won an English League Title in 20 years and is off to its worst start in club history in 50 years.  He promised a new stadium- but no one has broken ground on building a new stadium for Liverpool.  He promised to eradicate debt- but the reason he is being ousted is because Liverpool is deep in the red (no pun intended).

Liverpool is only one of three English clubs with an American owner.  But damage has been done in the wake of Hicks, though NESV think they can overcome it.

“Our objective is to stabilize the club and ultimately return Liverpool FC to its rightful place in English and European football, successfully competing for and winning trophies.”

Liverpool has just one win and are third to last after seven games this season.  Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal are all where they are expected to be: at the top of the table.  NESV will need some magic to pull this Liverpool side out of the mud and back to the top of the table.  In fact, if the season were to end today for Liverpool they would face relegation.  However, NESV is optimistic about Liverpool’s position based on what the organization has done in the past with the Red Sox.

“We have a proven track record, shown clearly with the Boston Red Sox,” the NESV statement said. “The team has won two World Series Championships over the past six years. We will bring the same kind of openness, passion, dedication and professionalism to Liverpool FC.”