DEPARTING Liverpool FC owner Tom Hicks has said he expects to pocket £600m from the sale of the club, describing it as his most profitable venture yet.
The Texas businessman bought the club three years ago with business partner George Gillett.
But his tenure as co-owner has been dogged by financial problems and a poor relationship with fans, many of whom have been extremely vocal in wanting to him to sell after the club was loaded with debt to finance its purchase.
In an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal at the weekend, Mr Hicks said he expects Liverpool to fetch £600m to £800m, four times what they paid for it.
Industry experts believe the actual sale price will probably be lower.
His comments last night angered fans, whose cash-strapped team are struggling to achieve a Champions League place next season.
Mr Hicks said: “Liverpool will be the most profitable investment I have ever made.
“It has been the most rewarding in so many ways and the most painful in so many ways.
“When you feel fans turn against you, it is very frustrating.
“The fan blogs blame the owners but we had terrible injuries with our star players out for more than a month, and we just were not a very good team without them.”
It is believed Mr Hicks is under pressure to sell because his £237m debt with Royal Bank of Scotland is due later in the year.
On Friday, Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett announced the imminent sale and appointed Martin Broughton as chairman of the Anfield club, granting him power to direct the sale in its best interests.
Mr Broughton will serve as a neutral party for the two partners, who fell out over the selection of a chief executive and the design of a replacement for Anfield.
The fan campaign against the American owners has intensified over the past 12 months, with thousands of Spirit Of Shankly members demonstrating outside Anfield.
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