John Henry appears to have left the door ajar for a Liverpool takeover that could smash the all-time record.
The Fenway Sports Group president last sought investment in the club in 2022, getting investment bank Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on board to explore possible options.
But the search ended in September last year when FSG sold a minority stake to Dynast Equity in a deal worth between £82m and £164m.
Henry bought Liverpool for £300m in 2010 and there has been no indication that he wants a return on his investment just yet.
But the latest news from Boston could suggest that his stance on Liverpool’s future is not as watertight as some might suspect.
John Henry doesn’t rule out Liverpool takeover
When asked by the Financial Times whether he is considering selling any of his sports assets, the 74-year-old issued what some might perceive to be an ambiguous response.
While Henry was quick to offer assurances about the future of his baseball side Boston Red Sox, he stopped short of explicitly confirming his long-term plans for Liverpool.
“My wife and I live and work in Boston,” he said.
“We are committed to the city, the region. So the Sox are not going to come up for sale. We generally don’t sell assets.”
- READ MORE FOOTBALL FINANCE ANALYSIS: Liverpool chief reveals ‘crazy idea’ Jurgen Klopp would have hated as Carlo Ancelotti slams £17m offer
Liverpool takeover could be worth £3.2bn, experts say
According to a recent study conducted by industry experts Football Benchmark, Liverpool’s enterprise value stands at £3.2bn.
That figure, which has risen by seven per cent over the last year, makes them the fifth most valuable club in world football.
Theoretically, if a sale was to go through at that price, it would be the most expensive football takeover of all time.
It would comfortably eclipse the sum that American investor Todd Boehly paid for Chelsea in 2022.
The headline figure of that deal was £4.25bn due to Boehly’s plans to invest £1.75bn in the club, but the true value of the takeover was around £2.5bn.