Indian multi-billionaire Mukesh Ambani is not in the race to purchase Liverpool, according to reports in his home country.
On Sunday a report emerged in the Mirror that claimed Ambani had approached Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group over acquiring their shareholding and taking over the Reds.
Ambani, the eighth richest man in the world with a fortune estimated to be around £90bn, was linked with a bid for the Reds back in 2009, something that was denied at the time by both his office and then Liverpool chief executive Christian Purslow.
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The Mirror reported that Ambani had revived his interest in purchasing the club after owners FSG opened themselves up to a potential full sale last week, a development first reported by the Athletic, with claims of an asking price of around £4bn mooted.
But major Indian media outlet ABP News has claimed that a representative of Ambani's Mumbai-based Reliance Industries firm has branded the reports as 'fake' and that the 65-year-old is not in the race to acquire the club.
Ambani, who already has sporting ownership interests through Reliance Industries' ownership of the Indian Premier League cricket side Mumbai Indians, is the latest in a string of names to be linked with a bid for the Reds.
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of INEOS and owner of OGC Nice, has ruled himself out of the race, as have the Ricketts family, the US owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball team who had been part of the bidding process for Chelsea earlier this year.
American billionaires and investment funds have been heavily linked, with former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer, who owns the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team; Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, who own the Philadelphia 76s NBA franchise and a part of Crystal Palace, and Boston Celtics and Atalanta owner Stephen Pagliuca all having been mentioned. There has also been reported interest from the Middle East.
FSG haven't explicitly stated that Liverpool are for sale and the stance is maintained that they are looking for investment and fresh capital into the club. That process was started with the engaging of major US banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to manage developments, but has since been expanded to field interest from those interested in a full takeover of the club that has been owned by John Henry's firm since 2010 and that has seen a valuation rise of more than 1,000 per cent from its £300m purchase price.
The ECHO has reached out to Reliance Industries for comment.
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