'Attractive to investors' - Qatar breaks silence on Liverpool takeover plans

Qatar has broken its silence amid reports its sovereign wealth fund is interested in taking over Liverpool.

In November Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group announced they were seeking new shareholders at Liverpool, while they did not rule out the prospect of a full sale of the club.

In a statement, FSG said that under the right conditions they “would consider new shareholders”, though they “remained fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch."

The Telegraph has since reported that the auction of Liverpool is in “full swing” with a full bid for the club expected in February.

Several prospective owners have since been linked to the Reds, including European consortiums, American venture capitalists and oil-rich Middle Eastern states.

Qatar breaks its silence

Earlier this week Qatari journalist Mohammed Saeed Alkaabi, claimed that the Gulf state had prioritised the acquisition of Liverpool.

He alleged that Qatar was “seriously interested” in securing a deal for the Merseyside club.

Indeed, Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf nation, has now admitted Qatar is interested in investing in a football club.

However, Al-Mahmoud insisted Qatar had not made up its mind regarding which club it would invest in.

Speaking to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Al-Mahmoud, said: "Football, the clubs and the sport is becoming very commercialised in a way, especially now fans are looking into this as an experience, so they would like to and experience and entertain themselves.

"At the same time, digitalisation is becoming very important for this. So, the business model of these institutions is becoming very commercialised and very investment friendly. You will not be surprised if we invest in this.

"We have not made up our mind yet but this is a very commercially driven decision that we go through. And again, sports is becoming a very important theme as well, people are engaged more in a sport and digitalisation is making it more attractive to investors."

QSI, a subsidiary of the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, currently owns Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain.

However, they reportedly want to expand their portfolio and have been linked with both Liverpool and Manchester United.

Topics: Football, Liverpool, Qatar

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.