That, of course, presents an opportunity for Hicks and Gillett. But some observers think Liverpool FC ultimately will suffer from all the borrowing, particularly if the club sells off star players. Says Phil French, a former EPL official and current director of Supporters Direct, a UK-based fan and ownership group: "What we don't want to see is an acquirer loading a club up with a lot of debt, then stripping its assets to pay off the debt."

Cheaper than the Cubs
The genesis of the current bidding war is traceable to the 2003 cash purchase of Chelsea FC by Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich for $280 million. Abramovich has since gone on a player-buying binge, netting two league titles for Chelsea in the process. The team, called the Blues, has bled red, however — losing about $450 million over the last two years.

Forced to compete with Chelsea's spending, rival club boards have sought other rich suitors. Enter the foreigners from across the Atlantic. The Americans seem drawn by the relatively modest asking prices, compared with pro sports in the United States. Tribune Co., for example, reportedly is asking upwards of $800 million for the Chicago Cubs. A lucrative television contract recently signed by the EPL has also drawn the interest of potential buyers. The 20 Premier League teams will divvy up nearly $3.2 billion in exchange for UK broadcasting rights over three years, a 60 percent increase from the previous contract, giving top teams TV revenues of more than $100 million. And that's before a new global EPL broadcast contract kicks in, boosting income and further exposing the league to viewers in the Middle East and Asia. The Yank owners see huge potential in such markets, given that past EPL branding efforts have been amateurish. In looking at the possibility of untapped global allegiance to Liverpool, for example, Tilliss says that "the market extensions are off the chart from anything we have in the U.S."

The extensions might even include traditionally soccer-unfriendly America. With British legend David Beckham adding star power to the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, and with EPL broadcasts now available on the Fox Soccer Channel, U.S. fans of the beautiful game may become a market force. U.S. sponsors, too: insurance giant AIG is reportedly paying about $110 million for the right to plaster its logo on the fabled red shirts of Man U for four years.

John Goff is a senior editor at CFO.

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