Speaking directly from his personal submarine (obviously), former Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov has spoken of how he nearly bought Liverpool.
The Reds are flying just now in the Premier League, winning 20 of their 21 games this term. They’re easily the best club side in the world right now, and if things fell into place, the former Jambos chief could’ve been a part of that.
The Reds are flying. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
As quoted by the Edinburgh Evening News, Romanov says there were plans in place to buy Liverpool for £200 million, which also included new pastures for Reds legend Steven Gerrard.
“We played Liverpool when I was at Kaunas and we were a goal up,” he said. “I agreed a deal with David Moores, who was their chairman, to buy them for £200 million.
“At the time, my budget at Hearts was tiny as I said, but we even drew up a preliminary contract. Unfortunately my financial partner Oleg Deripaska wouldn’t agree to releasing the funds for it.
What could’ve been. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
“But I told him we would have got £120 million back straight away by selling Steven Gerrard to Roman Abramovich at Chelsea. He would have paid that. They ended up selling Liverpool for £600 million to the Americans. It’s the biggest regret in my business life.”
Certainly a character
This is just one tale to bookmark under interesting stories about Romanov. Usually this would be the showpiece story to tell round the dinner table, but not for Romanov, such is the extravagant and sometimes shocking lifestyle he has led.
He is a Lithuanian fugitive, giving this interview from a Nuclear submarine used in the Soviet Union days. The 72-year-old is still wanted by Lithuanian authorities for embezzlement, fraud and money laundering allegations.
Wanted by the authorities. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Romanov was also wanted by Interpol but took refuge just outside Moscow and is now a Russian citizen. To think what could’ve been if he became the main man at Anfield.
What actually happened was that Romanov oversaw Hearts between 2005-2013. His stewardship ended as the club plummeted into administration.