Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has denied fresh claims that he plans to sell his 50% share in the club to Dubai International Capital.
He also described reports that he will allow DIC to study Liverpool’s books ahead of a proposed sale as “absolutely and categorically false”.
Hicks’ son Tom Hicks Jr, who was invited to join his father on the board, was confronted angrily by some supporters when he visited a pub near Anfield on Saturday. He claimed yesterday that he “had several constructive conversations” during his visit and that he hoped to “follow up with them next time I am in Liverpool”.
DIC may now try to buy out Hicks’s partner George Gillett’s 50% stake.
A statement from Hicks read: “Reports in the UK media that I am about to sell my stake in the Liverpool Football Club, or to invite DIC to examine the club’s books in preparation for such a sale – like other such reports planted in the UK press in recent weeks by parties with their own self-interested agenda – are absolutely and categorically false.
“The reality is that I am personally, professionally and financially committed to the club and its supporters and that I will continue to honor that commitment to the best of my ability now and in the future.”
A report in today’s Times newspaper claimed the owners had signalled their intent to sell and had granted DIC permission to examine the club’s accounts with a view to making an official takeover bid next month.
