Source: Liverpool_Echo
Liverpool FC sale could be 'a matter of months' away - chairman Martin Broughton
Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton's belief it will take 'a matter of months' to sell the club is not what manager Rafael Benitez will have wanted to hear.[LNB]The pair met for the first time on Thursday when Benitez was asked what his plans were in terms of squad building over the summer.[LNB]However, whatever request the Spaniard made for funds up front is unlikely to be forthcoming as American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are looking to take as much as they can from the sale, being overseen by Broughton.[LNB]And with the latest financial results showing the Americans' debt, attributed to Liverpool's parent company Kop Holdings, had risen to £351.4million from £299.8million in the year ending July 31 2009 there appears to be little chance of a huge transfer kitty.[LNB]Interest payments on loans increased by £3.6million to £40.1million as the company made a loss before tax of £54.9million - about the same figure Benitez is looking for to allow the club to be competitive next season.[LNB]The manager's only hope is to get fresh money from the new owners but Broughton has admitted there will be no quick fix.[LNB]'Success for me is completing a sale within a relatively short period - a matter of months - to someone who, hindsight says, was a very good owner for Liverpool,' said the Reds' chairman.[LNB]A matter of months is a long time in football, especially when it falls over a summer transfer window, and it could leave Benitez worse off than he was at the beginning of the current campaign.
