by Ciggy » Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:49 am
Brazilian fans hit out at Liverpool owner
Rory Smith 27/01/2008
Tom Hicks left a legacy of furious fans, broken promises and legal wrangling after his first attempt to crack football fell apart, it has been claimed.
The Texan tycoon's firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst bought into Brazilian giants Corinthians in 1999 in a bid to tap in to the lucrative South American market.
Just as at Liverpool, they promised a state-of-the-art stadium - but were soon left facing a fans' backlash. And when Hicks's company struggled to make the venture profitable, they pulled out after just three years.
Hicks and co-owner George Gillett revealed a £350million re-financing deal for Liverpool last week which means work can commence on the club's new 70,000-seat stadium. But a source close to Hicks said: "The company invested heavily in South America throughout the 1990s and the deal with Corinthians was part of that.
"But the funds they set up did not return money for their investors and it went downhill completely after 9/11.
"Hicks, Muse lost a great deal of money on the investment and it was large factor in Tom 'retiring' from that company."
Through its subsidiary PanAmerican Sports Teams, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst invested more than £40m in Corinthians in the first year of what was supposedly a 10-year partnership alone.
The deal was part of a project to invest in Brazilian football and broadcast it all over Latin America on the Hicks-owned TV station PSN. The cash injection fired Corinthians to victory in the 2000 World Club Cup and even gave the club the funds to sign Brazil stars Dida and Luizao.
SOUND FAMILIAR ?
But the new regime infuriated fans when they started selling off star players the following summer and announced plans to change Corinthians' famous black-and-white kit.
One Brazilian source said: "The Americans came into Corinthians with a lot of money but did not understand the way football works. They brought in a strong team of advisers to administer the club but the way they did things was very American, in the crudest sense. The model they wanted does not function here. Things had to be done their way.
"I can understand why Liverpool fans are angry with Hicks - but perhaps they should ask why their football industry has come to such a point that he was able to buy the club."
Hicks announced on Friday a £350m refinancing plan which strengthened his grip on Anfield despite fury from fans over a perceived lack of backing for boss Rafa Benitez. The deal loads £105m worth of debt on to the club, including £60m for work on the much-delayed new stadium.
But Corinthians fans never saw the 45,000-seat ground on the outskirts of Sao Paulo which Hicks, Muse promised them in 1999. Brazilian pundit Paulo Vinicius Coelho said: "They promised a new ground and it never arrived."
Even though Hicks, Muse pulled out of the club in 2003 after a row with a local partner over funding, it was not until December 28 2007 that the legal wrangling between the company and Corinthians finally ended.
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The only way we can move forward as a club is when these two sell up and never come back.
They well Hicks more so has turned the whole club upside down within 3 months, I hate his guts and wish he would just go, we are a laughing stock, riddled with debt we cannot afford and our team is playing woeful all down to one man Tom Hicks.
This man has given me many sleepless nights I am so worried about the future of the club whilst it remains in this mans hands dont be fooled by him people he does NOT have our best interests at heart he doesnt give a fu.ck about us or the club just $$$$.
He is making everyone extremly upset and unhappy and we cannot move forward till he is ousted and its up to us to give him that one final push so we can get back to some stability and winning ways.
Tom Hicks will be the death of LFC dont be fooled by fancy pictures.
There is no-one anywhere in the world at any stage who is any bigger or any better than this football club.
Kenny Dalglish 1/2/2011
REST IN PEACE PHIL, YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.