Liverpool FC: Will Reds New Nickname Be Red Army Following Sale?
August 8, 2010
Tom Hicks and George Gillett's ownership of Liverpool ending is not, by any means, new information.
The most recent bidder, however, is.
Challenging the bid of Yahya Kirdi's group, filled with wealthy investors from Canada and the Middle East, is Kenny Huang, a Chinese businessman.
Huang is not new to sports ownership, as he is the chairman of Hong Kong-based QSL Sports, which owns 15 percent of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit in this story is, however, that the bid by Huang and QSL has the backing of China Investment Corporation (CIC), or in other words, the Chinese government.
The promises being made by the group are rather outstanding, claiming to put the team among the top spenders in the world come transfer time and promising to improve infrastructure, a major plus for Liverpool supporters.
"Liverpool is and always should be one of the highest spending clubs in all of football," Huang told The Guardian. "And our financial models presume Liverpool will be at or near the top in spending on players every year."
Clearly, the benefits that would come to the club should Huang's bid go through would be astronomical.
That being said, the benefits that would come to the group of investors would likely trump that. With the backing of the CIC, and owners based out of Asia, the team would instantly take over at least the Chinese, and likely a larger Asian, market.
With nations boasting some of the highest populations in the world, and European and American sports on the rise, Liverpool could quickly (and easily) become "China's team" or "Asia's team." Think of the money!
Something that does not seem to be discussed in the media, however, is any negative response that could come with having a foreign government having some ownership of a team in the league.
Clearly there must be some issues with the Chinese government having a stake in the EPL, and having (some) control over one of its clubs. Just what these may be, though, it looks though time will tell, as the Huang bid appears the favourite over the others.
