John W. Henry. Image via Wikipedia  Next week, Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry will face off in England’s High Court against Texan tycoon Tom Hicks over ownership of struggling soccer team Liverpool FC.  Henry, who is widely credited with the Red Sox’s dramatic two-year turnaround, has been given the ok by England’s Premier League to buy Liverpool for £300 million (about $475 million). Now, only one roadblock remains: Hicks, the team’s current owner.  To call Hicks unpopular would be a gross understatement; he and Liverpool co-owner George Gillett took on massive debts to finance their purchase of the club, and have been blamed for the team’s losses on and off the pitch. This season marked Liverpool’s worst start in 57 years.  Henry’s purchase would wipe out most of this debt, but Hicks and Gillett are still trying to block the sale, as they’d face losses of about $230 million combined – a sum Hicks surely can’t afford to lose, given the recent financial woes that saw him drop off this year’s Forbes 400 rich list. He sold his Texas Rangers baseball team, which filed for bankruptcy in May (the team has since exited Chapter 11 protection). He’s currently looking for a buyer for his Dallas Stars hockey team, which, like Liverpool, is mired in debt.  The fate of Liverpool FC should be decided by early next week, and it’s considered likely that Henry’s firm New England Sports Ventures will prevail in court. Still, Liverpool fans are notoriously vocal and tough to please, with many supporters uneasy about the team’s prospects under yet another rich American. In recent days, they’ve let their signs and banners speak for them at matches: ‘Thanks’, read one, ‘but no Yanks.’  Note: a previous version of this post referred to Henry as a billionaire. While he made the Forbes 400 rich list in 2009, our estimate this year puts him just under, with an estimated net worth of about $970 million.
John Henry could erase Liverpool FC's huge debts with his takeover. So why is Tom Hicks trying to block the deal?