John Henry could buy Liverpool FC from George Gillett
Yes, you're probably wondering what in the world this has to do with NASCAR.
And outside of guilt-by-association, it really doesn't as of now. But it's still pretty bizarre.
We've detailed George Gillett's financial troubles with Liverpool FC in a NASCAR context for Richard Petty Motorsports here at the Marbles, and he and Tom Hicks, the former Texas Rangers owner, have been looking to sell (or refinance for the umpteenth time) Liverpool FC. But they're only looking to sell if the price is right for them, and that price would involve the reported the club's reported £282 million debt and at a price that the two wanted.
The board of Liverpool, sick of the American owners, has been trying to push a sale through for some time and after a couple of failed sale attempts, has finally agreed to a deal with John Henry.
That just leaves the issue of Hicks and Gillett, who are opposed to the sale on the terms agreed to NESV, claiming it undervalues the club. They also sought to remove chief executive Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from their posts in a failed boardroom coup on Tuesday night, after rejecting two offers for their stake in the club.
The American duo are already incredibly unpopular among Reds fans who have staged numerous protests against their ownership and Broughton said: "This was frankly their last chance to leave Liverpool with their heads high and they have chosen to go this route.
No, not the railroad constructor from the kids' stories -- though that would be cool, he could build Liverpool's long-intended new stadium all by himself -- but the head of New England Sports Ventures, the group that owns the Red Sox and part of, you guessed it, Roush Fenway Racing.
And remember, RPM gets cars, engines and engineering support from Roush Fenway Racing. RPM is also partially owned by Boston Ventures -- now BV Investment Partners -- after BVIP invested in Petty Enterprises before the Gillett-Evernham merger. But don't get them confused with NESV.
What a small little circle sports ownership is. We'll see if this goes through, and what, if any, impact this have on RPM and the relationship with Roush Fenway. And in the meantime, I don't think we can expect Rick Hendrick to sell any of his dealerships to Joe Gibbs.
