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With Liverpool knocked out of the UEFA Cup, the first shot has been fired in the battle for control of the faltering Merseyside club. The club turned down an offer of £50m in funding from Steve Morgan, a multi-millionaire Jersey-based property developer who is already the club's third largest shareholder. But this is likely to be just the first skirmish in an ongoing conflict with a group of Thai businessmen led by their prime minister also in the wings.
Morgan was prepared to offer the club £50m for their new stadium at Stanley Park in return for an increased shareholding and influence on the board. If Liverpool had accepted the money, it would have reduced their need to borrow heavily to fund the new stadium (Morgan favours a ground share with Everton). Morgan already owns five per cent in Liverpool and feels that David Moores, Liverpool's largest shareholder with a 51 per cent stake, has not been running the club as effectively as he might have been. Moores is a staunch ally of embattled manager Gérard Houllier. Anyone seeking to win control of the club faces the problem that Liverpool is a privately owned company with the 42,000 shares valued at £4,000 each.
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