Liverpool FC's American owners, faced with insurmountable debt, are looking to sell. It's a familiar story in the high-stakes world of European soccer By Mark Scott American billionaires George Gillett and Tom Hicks were in the vanguard of sports investing when they shelled out $310 million in 2007 to buy Liverpool FC, one of England's biggest and richest soccer clubs. Money was easy, so they took on $500 million in debt to build a big new stadium and cover the team's operating costs. The payout looked promising. Then the global credit crunch hit and the math started to fall apart. The stadium was postponed and the Americans finagled a six-month extension on their loan. But the $500 million comes due in July 2009, and refinancing in the current climate seems implausible. Instead, Gillett and Hicks hope to sell the club for as much as $700 millionstill not a bad return on investmentto Middle Eastern buyers. Investors Back Off "Football" So it goes these days in the high-stakes world of professional soccer. Despite revenues last year that topped $270 million, Liverpool's financial predicament is becoming an all-too-familiar tale for soccer clubs across Europe, especially in the world's most lucrative domestic championship, the English Premier League (EPL). Spiraling player salaries, uncertainty over future corporate sponsorship deals, and the deteriorating global economy have made many investors wary of owning a piece of the world's most popular sport. For some, the economic pressure has become too much to bear. Alexandre Gaydamak, the Franco-Russian owner of Portsmouth FCcurrently languishing near the bottom of the EPLwants to sell out for as much as $85 million. Mike Ashley, owner of the similarly beleaguered Newcastle United, tried to find a buyer but eventually took the club off the market when none appeared. Rumors abound that others, including Icelandic businessman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, the owner of London-based West Ham United and the largest shareholder of nationalized Icelandic bank Landsbanki, soon could follow. To quote a famous saying: "The way to make a small fortune is to start with a big one and buy a soccer club." Winners Take All That's not to say soccer isn't still a very lucrative business. Indeed, consultants Deloitte reckon revenues in the 2007-2008 season for the world's top 20 clubsall located in Europetotaled $4.9 billion, up 6% from the year before and three times the take of a decade ago. According to Dan Jones, a partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, club revenues today on average come 41% from broadcasting rights, 33% from commercial deals, and 26% from game-day sales. "At the top end of the market, things are going O.K. But lower down the league tables, clubs are suffering more," he says. That means the likes of Spain's Real Madrid and England's Manchester United, rated first and second, respectively, in Deloitte's ranking of the world's top money-making franchises, should weather the economic storm without much trouble. They enjoy multibillion-dollar broadcasting deals that help guard against economic ebbs and flows, and their sponsorship deals are with big, rich partners such as Nike (NKE), Adidas (ADSG.DE), BT Group