Hicks doubts prince's buy-in

(GETTY IMAGES)

Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks was said last night to view with scepticism claims apparently made by Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud that he wants to buy half the club in a deal worth up to £350m.

Prince Faisal, who chairs two Saudi investment companies and the F6 sports investment firm, was entertained by Hicks’ co-owner, George Gillett, at Anfield on Saturday and quoted by the Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh as saying that “we are seeking, at present, to own a 50 per cent stake in the club. The value of the transaction, which is nearing resolution, will be between £200m and £350m.”

Hicks was apparently taken by surprise by the comments. The view from his camp was that discussions with Prince Faisal were in line with a statement released by the prince’s firm saying he had signed a memorandum of understanding with Gillett over the establishment of Liverpool football academies in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf.