'George Gillett Jr, the Liverpool co-owner, has moved to ease the club's financial troubles by agreeing to sell his majority stake in the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey franchise.
'However, Rafael Benítez, the manager, will still face a fight to keep his best players at Anfield this summer. Molson, the brewing company, has agreed to buy Gillett's 80.1 per cent stake in the Canadiens for about £330 million, with the deal expected to be concluded before July 24, the deadline by which Gillett and Tom Hicks, his business partner at Liverpool, must have renegotiated their £350 million credit deals with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Wachovia.
'Gillett put the Canadiens up for sale this year and has been searching for a buyer to raise the funds needed to consolidate his position at Anfield, with RBS and Wachovia expected to demand more than the £185 million in personal guarantees that the Americans have made to satisfy their concerns.
'The move by Gillett comes after KPMG, Liverpool's auditor, cast "significant doubt" on their ability to continue as a "going concern", with the accounts released this month revealing that Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd had made a pre-tax loss of £42.6 million and that the club paid £36.5 million in interest on their debts in the financial year to July 31, 2008.
'Liverpool could receive another shot in the arm if Hicks manages to offload about half of his 95 per cent stake in the Texas Rangers baseball team to a consortium headed by Nolan Ryan, the president and a former player, or David McDavid, a Texas businessman. The Rangers are valued at $405 million (about £245 million).'