"Increasingly likely..." - James Pearce drops major Liverpool takeover update amid Qatar rumours

Reputable journalist James Pearce has claimed it is “increasingly likely” that Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) will only sell a minority stake in the club.

In November FSG, who bought Liverpool for £300million in 2010, announced they were seeking new shareholders, while they did not rule out the possibility of a full sale of the club.

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

There have since been unconfirmed reports that the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar want to purchase the Premier League giants.

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

Alkaabi alleged that the Gulf state was “seriously interested” in purchasing the Merseyside club.

Meanwhile, Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, also admitted to Bloomberg that Qatar is interested in investing in a football club, though stressed they were undecided over which one to buy.

James Pearce’s FSG update

The Athletic journalist James Pearce has stressed it is “increasingly likely” FSG will sell just a minority stake in Liverpool rather than sanction a full sale.

The Liverpool owners are reportedly yet to receive a suitably attractive offer, despite the alleged interest from Qatar.

Furthermore, Pearce claimed his FSG sources had dismissed speculation that they are on the brink of selling Liverpool to a Qatari consortium. Indeed, there have allegedly been no discussions with any party at present.

The report stressed that FSG’s current preference is to sell a small portion of the club, though nothing is imminent on that front.

However, it remains to be seen whether a bid is tabled that is tempting enough for FSG to sell their majority shareholding of the Reds.