Battle for Anfield: Scepticism over Liverpool bidder as Kenny Huang remains frontrunner

By John Edwards
Updated: 03:54 EDT, 5 August 2010

Kenny Huang remains in pole position to buy Liverpool, despite claims from a rival consortium that they are on the brink of agreeing a deal with co-owners Tom
Hicks and George Gillett.

Kenny Huang, the frontman for the bid backed by the Chinese government, remains in pole position to buy Liverpool, despite claimsfrom a rival consortium that they are on the brink of agreeing a deal.

Yahya Kirdi, a Syrian businessman based in Canada, said yesterday a formal purchase agreement with a group of investors was in the final stage of negotiation.

Boardroom battle: Yahya Kirdi (left) is said to be a front-runner ahead of Kenny Huang (right) in the fight for Liverpool ownership

However, there was widespread scepticism over his assertion that he had been negotiating directly with owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Similar claims by Kirdi’s representatives last April came to nothing, while Barclays
Capital and Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton are handling the sale, not the
American owners.

Unpopular: The American ownership of Gillett (left) and Hicks has long lost the support of the Anfield faithful

Huang is fronting the bid of the state-owned China Investment Corporation (CIC), known in the UK for its stake in Canary Wharf.

CIC was set up in 2007 to invest billions of dollars overseas on behalf of the communist state.

Huang confirmed in a statement that no formal bid had yet been made.

Manager Roy Hodgson said: ‘Unfortunately, the owners are very unpopular with the fans. That is why they are prepared to sell. I don’t get involved.’