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RBS denies any talks with China's Huang over Liverpool

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-04 14:12

A man walks past a mural outside the club shop at Liverpool's Anfield stadium in Liverpool, northern England, on Monday. Chinese businessman Kenny Huang has launched a bid to acquire control of the team from unpopular American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, a source close to the deal said on Monday. [Phil Noble / Reuters]

LONDON - Liverpool's major creditor, Royal Bank of Scotland, on Monday denied it was in talks with a Chinese businessman over the sale of the Premier League club.

But a source close to Chinese businessman Kenny Huang said talks to buy Liverpool's 237 million pound ($374.7 million) debt with RBS were underway as a first step toward a purchase deal for the 18-time English champion.

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British media has widely reported that Huang, a Guangdong-born US citizen who already has interests in Chinese baseball and US basketball, had approached the bank as part of a scheme to eventually acquire control of the club.

But an RBS spokesman said: "We are not in talks with any bidder about the sale of Liverpool football club."

Asked about the denial, the source insisted Huang wanted to buy the Anfield club, which was put up for sale by unpopular American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in April.

Huang, chairman of the Hong Kong-based QSL Sports Group, has not commented on the deal but appointed a British media relations firm to represent his interest in the five-time European champion.

Liverpool's owners, who bought the club in Feb 2007 from former owner David Moores for 218.9 million pounds ($349 million), instructed Barclays Capital to find a buyer in April and appointed British Airways chief Martin Broughton as chairman to oversee the sale.

Barclays Capital refused to comment on Monday.

The American duo has faced intense criticism and hostility from Liverpool fans, with frequent demands for its removal, after loading the club with huge debts.

Huang issued a statement in March denying comments attributed to him in the British media about the future of then-Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez but declining comment on his interest in purchasing the club.

Reuters