EVERTON FC last night moved to distance itself from reports the club would soon be sold for around £200m.
The club said reports that there were two serious offers in excess of £200m on the table were not true.
It came as Liverpool FC chief executive Rick Parry re-stated the club would not be building a new ground on Stanley Park until the current financial turmoil had stabilised.
Yesterday, it was reported there were two bidders for Everton FC, one from the Far East and another from the Middle East.
It was suggested that the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund worth around £30bn, could be a potential buyer, but the report said that was unconfirmed.
Last month, Everton chairman Bill Kenwright told an extraordinary general meeting he had asked Keith Harris, who is regarded as a “Mr Fix It” of the football world, to help find a new owner for the club.
Kenwright told share- holders he was a “pauper” in comparison with the billion- aire owners of Chelsea and Manchester City. Yesterday, reports said Kenwright was keen to sell before the end of the year to allow for an injection of cash for the January transfer window.
Kenwright would not ask to retain any position of significant power at the club, it was claimed.
It was also claimed all the major shareholders had agreed to sell and a formal offer was expected in weeks.
A spokesman for Everton FC said: “The stories are not true. The chairman has made clear he would listen to potential investors, but the stories in the Sunday papers are not true.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool FC said its new stadium on Stanley Park would be built, but only when the credit crunch was over.
Parry also said the club was not considering a ground share with Everton.
“With the financial markets in the turmoil as they are, any major construction project at this time is difficult, it is risky,” Parry said.
In August, the club said its plans to relocate from Anfield had been delayed by a year, and said it hoped to be in a new stadium by the start of the 2012/13 season.
The club still hopes to hit that deadline.
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