George Gillett invites DIC to Liverpool v Chelsea game

Apr 22 2008

George Gillett, Tom Hicks, Rick Parry

LIVERPOOL co-owner George Gillett has invited senior officials from Dubai International Capital to be his guests at Anfield tonight for the Champions League semi-final showdown with Chelsea.

Although Gillett himself will not be able to attend the match because of illness, his party - including son Foster, a fellow director - will be there in force to welcome DIC’s representatives.

It is a remarkable move by Gillett who, as the Liverpool Daily Post exclusively revealed, agreed to sell the majority of his shares to DIC in March. The deal was only scuppered when fellow co-owner Tom Hicks pulled out of talks with DIC.

The invite also comes just five days after Hicks staged an extravagant PR exercise with a TV interview defiantly outlining his own plans for the future of the club.

But significantly, after Hicks had made it clear he still intended to buy out Gillett, Colorado-based Gillett announced that he had no intention of ever selling his stake to Hicks.

It is believed that DIC’s chief negotiator Amanda Staveley will be among Gillett’s party, along with Liverpool fan and DIC chief executive Samir Al-Ansari.

Hicks could also be there, although significantly his spokesmen in the UK have been unable to confirm the Dallas billionaire’s movements.

Hicks had made it clear at the weekend that he intended to be at Anfield for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final - but there are now doubts he would want to be in the same directors box as DIC.

But if, as seems unlikely at the moment, all the warring participants on the club’s takeover battle are at the ground together it will indicate that a deal is much closer than Hicks intimated in his belligerent TV interview last week.

DIC have been trying to buy the club for 18 months, having been beaten at the post by Hicks and Gillett just over a year ago.

Now Gillett, at least, seems to be making a bold statement of intent.

The problem over Hicks’ alleged veto of any Gillett sale is likely to be challenged in court before the summer.

Manager Rafael Benitez made it clear yesterday that he and his team - plus the fans - will be concentrating on reaching the Moscow final next month and will remain unaffected by whatever happens in the directors’ box tonight.