Liverpool’s American owners confirmed on Friday they want to sell the debt-ridden Premier League club after three troubled years in charge.
Co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. have hired Barclays Capital to advise on the sale and announced that British Airways chairman Martin Broughton has agreed to become chairman at Anfield to oversee the process.
“Owning Liverpool Football Club over these past three years has been a rewarding and exciting experience for us and our families,” Hicks and Gillett said in a joint statement. “We have now decided together to look to sell the club to owners committed to take the club through its next level of growth and development.”
For more than two years, Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett have been trying to attract investors to reduce the debt resulting from their leveraged takeover in 2007, which stands at 237 million pounds ($364 million), and raise finances to build a new stadium to replace Anfield.
But that investment search has failed amid feuding between Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett, who have faced angry protests from Liverpool fans on their rare visits to northwest England.
Now the Americans hope Broughton, along with Barclays Capital, can succeed in finding a buyer.
“Martin is a distinguished business leader of excellent judgment and with a great reputation,” the owners said in a statement. “He is a genuine football supporter and will seek to oversee the sales process in the best interests of the club and its supporters.”
The lack of funds to strengthen the squad has had an impact on Liverpool’s performance on the field this season.
Runners-up last season, Liverpool is languishing in sixth place this season, six points out of fourth place and the final English berth in next season’s Champions League.
While Liverpool is in the semi-finals of the Europa League, it is in Europe’s second-tier knockout competition because it was eliminated from the group stage of the Champions League, which it won in 2005.
“Liverpool is one of the world’s greatest clubs and my aim is to try and ensure that we find new owners who are able to build on the club’s recent improved financial performance in order to help deliver sporting success,” Mr. Broughton said.
