It’s odd to think that Liverpool were on the verge of going out of business back in 2010. One of the nation’s (even planet’s) most illustrious footballing entities was teetering on the brink of financial ruin, with their former owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, having bankrolled their ill-fated reign at Anfield with numerous loans.

We won’t go into the actual details, but the Americans were eventually forced out by Fenway Sports Group, who have been far more grounded and put the reckless tenure of their compatriots in the past.

However, had it not been for Hicks and Gillette’s “greed,” the club could have been taken over by a Middle Eastern sheikh prior to the eventual 2010 buyout. That is according to former Celtic player Andy Lynch, who claims to have been an insider on a deal that almost went through.

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Speaking to the Glasgow Evening Times, the now-65-year-old reveals that he was an intermediary in a £400m arrangement that was on course to go through before the then-Liverpool owners’ increasing demands scuppered it.

Reds fans will want to read this…

“Now I can’t say everything because I signed a confidentiality clause which is unfortunate because I could have said a lot more,

“I was in Australia when my agent, based in Montreal and a fly-man, told me he was representing a conglomerate that wanted to buy a football club. He didn’t know much about football, asked me to get involved and that there would be plenty of money in it. I was always dubious and wanted to know more.

I asked what club it was and he told me Liverpool. He then said; ‘They’re good, aren’t they?’ This was all from a Sheik in Dubai who had serious money and things quickly developed.”

“The bottom line is their greed – the agent and his partners – and Liverpool’s greed, they were owned by the Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks back then, is what scuppered the deal.

“I was flown first class everywhere, stayed in the top hotels in London, they put me up in a £1000 a night suite and I’m thinking ‘These guys are awfully generous.’ The penny then dropped.

"They were using Liverpool’s money and not their own. They ran up a huge debt at the club. The-then owners were only paying the interest on a bank loan. They put nothing into the club.

“Right at the end the Sheik’s representative didn’t trust anyone, and rightly so, although he quite liked me. He had the cheque for £400m, I was there, and he is about to put the cheque in and as this happening I’m thinking I’m going to be a big player at Liverpool Football Club, in fact I was already looking in Scotland for some professional people to help me.

“But then Hicks, Gillet and this agent guy decided they got the money too easily, there was no question about the original figure so they added on something extra and the Sheik told his guy to tear up the cheque and come home.”