Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group shocked the sporting world on Monday when they released a statement which appeared to outline that the club was up for sale - but which Irish billionaires could afford to buy it?
Speculation and debate has been stirring since FSG - also the owners of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox - released a statement which appeared to invite new investors into Liverpool.
While the statement did not specifically mention that the club is up for sale, many football fans have been led to believe that could be the case.
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The statement read: “There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumours of changes in ownership at EPL clubs.
"And inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group’s ownership in Liverpool.
“FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third party seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool.
"FSG has said that before under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club.
“FSG remains fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch.”
The news has moved many to consider who could possibly invest in Liverpool next - with many citing the Middle Eastern regimes in place at Manchester City and Newcastle.
Speculation elsewhere has pointed towards Qatari investors in light of the country's growing relationship with the sport ahead of the 2022 World Cup which kicks off later this month.
However, there are deep-pocketed candidates much closer to the U.K, with Ireland containing billionaires who could meet Liverpool Football Club's reported €5.16bn valuation.
Here is a look at the Irish who could buy Liverpool FC:
The Mistry Family
The late Pallonji Mistry was an Indian-born Irish construction tycoon whose net worth was estimated at €29bn at the time of his death in June of this year. He was the chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and also a major shareholder of India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group.
Mistry was the richest Irish billionaire at the time of his death, and also the world's 143rd richest person. The heirs to the Mistry fortune could well afford to purchase Liverpool Football Club.
Patrick and John Collison
Limerick tech brothers Patrick and John Collison found success at an early age as they sold their software company Auctomatic to become millionaires aged 19 and 17 respectively.
in 2010, Patrick co-founded the financial services company Stripe. This yielded huge success from its early days - including early investment from Elon Musk - and made billionaires of the Limerick brothers.
As of 2021, Patrick Collison's net worth is estimated at just over €11bn.
Best of the rest
There are many more super-wealthy Irish who pass as billionaires but who would not be able to afford Liverpool's sizeable price tag.
Denis O'Brien
The founder and owner of Digicel was listed as Ireland's richest native-born citizen for a number of years and contributed to the salaries of the Republic of Ireland football managers for a decade.
He is now estimated to be worth €3.6billion.
John Magnier
The Coolmore Stud boss has a net worth which was recently estimated at €2.4bn - just over half of the rumoured asking price for Liverpool FC.
JP McManus
The businessman and racehorse owner is estimated to be worth around €2.29bn, but he appears committed to his more established endeavours and his investment into Limerick GAA has been well documented at this stage.
Dermot Desmond
With an estimated net worth of €2.6bn, Desmond falls short - however, as the owner of Celtic he presumably isn't interested anyway!
Conor McGregor
The UFC star is always on the lookout for shrewd investments, and he even suggested that he was interested in purchasing Manchester United last year.
He posted: "Hey guys, I'm thinking about buying Manchester United! What do you think?"
However, it was reported earlier this year that McGregor's net worth is somewhere between €160m and €230m. Despite burgeoning business interests as well the 2021 sale of his majority stake in whiskey company Proper Twelve to Proximo Spirits, McGregor appears to have a way to go before he becomes a billionaire.
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