Liverpool has reportedly received a $180 million investment bid from the New York-based private equity firm Rhone Group. American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are obliged to reduce the club's $360 million debt with Royal Bank of Scotland by $150 million by this summer. The deal would make the Rhone Group the largest shareholder with 40 percent, Hicks and Gillett each falling to 30 percent.

Hicks and Gillett took control of Liverpool in February 2007, each taking a 50 percent stake. But their reign has proven unpopular with Reds fans, with the debt burden they have placed on the club and the delayed construction of the proposed new stadium at Stanley Park coming in for particular criticism.