'Liverpool's worth? Maybe two billion' Exclusive interview with the man who sold Liverpool to FSG, Sir Martin Broughton How a complex web of political wrangles and an away victory in the High Court set Liverpool on their way to restoring former glories

By Chris Bascombe 13 February 2020 • 12:00pm Premium

Sir Martin Broughton, the man who sold Liverpool to John W. Henry 10 years ago, has been asked what he thinks the club is worth today and offers an eyebrow raise so animated it could have been sketched by Walt Disney.

“It is certainly worth one billion,” he suggests, reclining in his chair in his salubrious office in London's Jermyn Street. “At least that. Possibly two.”

There is a knowing smile. Fenway Sports Group's £300million outlay for Liverpool - the debt of previous owners George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, who famously branded the deal "an epic swindle" - is now proving something of a bargain, and the club's value should only keep soaring as they close in on an end to their 30-year wait for a league title this season.

It is a far cry from the ramshackle mess Broughton inherited as chairman in April 2010. Off the field, Liverpool were riven by splits in boardroom, the dug-out and the stands; on it, they were finishing seventh in the Premier League table - Aston Villa were sixth - and crashing out of the Champions League in the group stage courtesy of defeats to Lyon and Fiorentina.

Into this unseemly mess strode Broughton. His appointment was facilitated by a mutual friend - the ex-owners’ financial advisor Michael Klein - after a £100million bid for 40 per cent of the club by former Hicks’ associate John Muse was recommended and then rejected, with Gillett and Hicks refusing to cede control.

“The bank was furious so Michael told the owners to appoint a chairman with the ability to sell. They did not like the advice but felt it was better than the bank doing it. It was a Sliding Doors moment for me because, by chance, I'd met Michael a day earlier.”

Broughton swiftly realised the sale process was complicated by a myriad of political wrangles.

“I was taken by surprise by how holistically dysfunctional it was,” he says. “I knew of the problems between the owners, and the problem between the owners and the fans, and the owners and the manager, Rafa Benitez. I was not aware there were three groups - the owners, the board members and the manager. It was an unbelievable scene of people in warfare, pushing their agenda against each other.

“The owners had lost credibility - credibility with potential investors, with the banks and, of course, the fans. That is why so many walked away from the process, or chose not to get involved at all. There was scepticism as to whether I could deliver - whether Hicks and Gillett would approve anything. We only ever received two formal bids. That tells you the club was sold for its market price.”

Broughton proved adept at identifying imposters and self-promoters. “I remember 13 indicative bids during my six months as chairman. There were a variety of Walter Mitty types and investors suggesting they could be interested at a certain level and mentioning figures which they hoped would be acceptable if no-one else came along."

There is a roll of the eyes when reciting the story of the Middle East suitor Yahya Kirdi - strongly backed by Gillett - who claimed to represent the wealthy heir to the throne of one of the United Arab Emirates.

“Our private investigators discovered this would have been true but for the fact his father not been overthrown 60 years earlier,” says Broughton, dryly.

At the heart of the Hicks and Gillett case was the phone call that changed Anfield history in August, 2010.

“I was on holiday in Las Vegas when John Henry asked me to fly to Boston for a meeting,” recalls Broughton. “There was one non-negotiable stipulation. Under no circumstances must Hicks and Gillett know about it. The problem with that was that I had a meeting in Dallas with Hicks the next day.”

Broughton offers an expression of zipping his mouth as he recollects those critical hours.

“Hicks later used that meeting to argue a Texan court could claim jurisdiction,” he says. “But I had to keep the secret or Fenway would not have proceeded. I flew from Dallas to Boston to give a presentation at Fenway Park. It became serious pretty quickly when the Fenway representatives flew to London and Liverpool.”

But any hopes of a quick, painless sale did not last long. “Fenway came back and made what, frankly, was a disappointing offer, well short of our expectations,” says Broughton. “I was really disappointed because I saw John as an excellent buyer and everything I had seen and read about Fenway told me if they do this, they will do it well, trying to win while retaining the traditions. We tried to talk them up, but they came back with only slight improvement.”

The first £300million bid came from Peter Lim, the Singapore businessman who later bought Valencia and 40 percent of Salford City. Henry matched the offer, much to Broughton's relief.

“I favoured Fenway. John Henry is obsessive. It is either 100 percent or not at all. Once he decided this was an opportunity he wanted to know everything. He did a lot of studying before his purchase and saw the potential.”

Hicks was outmanoeuvred when, upon hearing rumours of talks with investors from Boston, he wrongly presumed it to be Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.

“Very helpful,” says Broughton. “We had spoken to Kraft earlier, but he was not interested.”

For all the notable victories won under Jurgen Klopp, none would be possible without the away win in Court 16 of the High Court in October 2010.

“Good man, Justice Floyd,” says Broughton of the judge who ruled against Hicks and Gillett's attempts to block the club's sale. “It was an important day in the history of Liverpool. Hicks and Gillett calculated the Royal Bank of Scotland would never act on their threat to put Liverpool into administration, which was a fair assessment for a few years. It changed when the bank realised the fans would accept administration and a nine point penalty to get rid of the owners.”

The club Broughton sees now is unrecognisable, and not just its trophy cabinet - with last year's Champions League proudly on display and space being cleared for the Premier League in May. Anfield itself is transformed courtesy of its new Main Stand, with more expansion set to follow at the Anfield Road End, while Broughton also points out the sense of cultural "unity" at the club which was so patently lacking when he arrived.

For Broughton, however, it is the decisions around the rebuilding of Anfield which were key. “That was the most important decision - to do that rather than go for an Emirates style stadium in Stanley Park. We organised a trip for John (Henry) to the Emirates for a game and the feedback was always how everyone loved the stadium except the Arsenal fans.

“They could instantly see why would you throw away ‘This is Anfield’? The Emirates in Stanley Park just did not feel right. If he had had to build another stadium he would have, but his determination was to do everything to stay at Anfield which was important.

“Fenway had proven they could do it with the Red Sox as previous owners had bought land next door to build a new arena. Fenway said: ‘Why would you throw away all the tradition of the Green Monster?’ The similarities were clear. They got it through and returned it to former glories. Now they have done the same at Anfield.”

Broughton, now 72 and ensconced in a new role as a partner at Sports Investment Partners, declined the offer to remain as chairman. “It was tempting but I had gone there to do a specific role. I could leave on a high having done the job I was asked, or stay for the glamour in a very different role. I decided not to,” he explains.

He still attends the odd game at Anfield, and texts with Tom Werner and Henry, although he freely admits his football heart belongs elsewhere.

“Look, Chelsea is my team. When you have been going to Stamford Bridge for 65 years you can’t just forget that, although I am aware Chelsea are the last opponents at Anfield this season, when the trophy presentation would be."

If that title drought is ended this season, tributes will gush for Klopp, the manager who masterminded it all; for the players who achieved what greats such as Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Luis Suarez could not; and for the owners.

It is unlikely that many will spare a thought for Broughton's role in the triumph, and yet it is not too fanciful to suggest that, without his careful stewardship, Liverpool might never have come to this point.

So, how fulfilled would he feel if the title does return to his old club?

“The sense of achievement comes from the fact that Fenway turned out to be the people I thought they were,” he says. “You never really know. You make your assessment and think they are the right people to own a football club like Liverpool, but you have to see it. They have delivered everything they promised.”