Liverpool fans assured over new investors, Benitez

LIVERPOOL, England (AP)—Liverpool fans got good news on and off the field Sunday.

First managing director Christian Purslow said the team will have new investors within six months and that manager Rafa Benitez’s job is secure. Then the gloom that had been engulfing the club was further lifted by a 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

A run of four straight losses before the win had intensified the pressure on American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. to spend money to strengthen the squad.

Before the match, around 1,000 fans chanted “Yanks out” as they protested outside Anfield against Hicks and Gillett Jr., who were on a rare joint visit.

Hicks, who wildly celebrated Sunday’s first goal by Fernando Torres, and Gillett went public last month with their search for new equity after a Saudi Arabian prince said he wanted to buy a stake in the 18-time English champions.

And Purslow assured fans an injection of cash will be arriving soon.

“There has been a huge amount of interest in the club from some extremely wealthy and expert investors, but it will take three to six months to pull that together,” Purslow said. “It means there will be new investment into the football club. Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett have no plans to sell their shares. We will be issuing new equity to new investors, broadening our ownership.”

Hicks also owns the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars. Gillett recently sold the Montreal Canadiens but is still a majority owner of NASCAR’s Richard Petty Motorsports team.

Despite the recent poor run of results in the Champions League and Premier League, Benitez is still seen as the manager to deliver the club’s first English championship since 1990.

Benitez signed a new five-year contract in March despite winning only two major trophies since arriving in 2004—the Champions League in 2005 and 2006 FA Cup.

“Liverpool Football Club is on a long-term journey and that journey is to be the most successful club, firstly in our country and secondly in the world, and you don’t do that by worrying about short-term results,” Purslow said. “You do that by having long-term plans centering on the people and the strategy. Rafa Benitez is absolutely central to that plan.”

Purslow said neither of the team’s pivotal players, Torres and Steven Gerrard, were for sale at any price.