Sir Martin Broughton admits Peter Lim was close to beating FSG to the ownership of Liverpool.

Brought, as Liverpool chairman, was charged with finding a buyer for Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

FSG fended off competition from Singapore billionaire Lim, now owner of Valencia and Salford City, to secure control of the Reds. And according to Broughton, there was another significant issue they had to overcome.

He recalled to the Liverpool Echo: "Their problem in many senses was the fans' position was not just 'Hicks and Gillett out', it was also verbalised as 'Yanks out'. And what were we doing? Bringing in another bunch of Yanks.

"The money was actually identical. The two bidders were a ha'penny apart. Peter Lim I thought would be a very good owner. He showed a lot of commitment. He just didn't have the history to demonstrate it."