American billionaire Stephen Pagliuca failed in his attempts to buy Chelsea back in the summer, but could now enter the race for Liverpool.
The Premier League giants are on the market with the current owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) open to investment options, with several pathways open to them. Pagliuca currently owns Italian side Atalanta and NBA franchise Boston Celtics with his wealth stemming from his role with Bain Capital.
Liverpool changed hands more than a decade ago with John Henry's FSG group taking charge and enjoying notable success since. Pagliuca admits he considered a move for the Reds around the same time and would weigh up the finances before making any bid for the Anfield outfit.
He told the Financial Times : "I looked at Liverpool about 15 years ago when they had that situation. I can't talk specifically about any transactions we are working on because of confidentiality agreements but obviously we are aware of those transactions.
"The questions on those transactions in general is what price level do we think is sustainable? Obviously the Chelsea process which received a record price has probably motivated folks to try and monetise clubs that they have owned for a long time, and we are certainly in a period where values have been driven up.
"Anyone who buys a club has to assess the economic opportunity, how much money we have to put in to keep up the quality and what that will cost you. That is what we do in everything we are looking at."
Henry has stated, with the rising costs of running a football club, that he would be open to fresh investment. "FSG has said before that under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club," a club statement previously read.
Liverpool are poised for a major summer rebuild with several areas of the squad needing addressing. The team are not currently competitive, which had been the case in recent years, with players like Jude Bellingham, who will cost £100m plus, touted as summer targets.
Henry, who has a portfolio of sports clubs, accepts that he can't own Liverpool forever and is optimistic an investment opportunity can be found.
"I know there has been a lot of conversation and quotes about LFC, but I keep to the facts: we merely formalized an ongoing process," he told Boston Sports Journal. "Will we be in England forever? No. Are we selling LFC? No. Are [we] talking with investors about LFC? Yes. Will something happen there? I believe so, but it won't be a sale. Have we sold anything in the past 20 plus years?"
