Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton believes the club’s current owners have blown their last chance to leave Anfield with their “heads high”.
Broughton has confirmed a £300m takeover deal which will see New England Sports Ventures, parent company of Major League Baseball giants Boston Red Sox, buy the Anfield club.
But present owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who slapped a £600m price tag on the club, are planning to challenge the sale in court because NESV’s offer is well below their asking price.
And, in an interview with Sky Sports News, Broughton has spoken of his disappointment in the pair’s decision.
He said: “This was their last chance to leave with their heads high, it’s a pity they have chosen this route.
“Part of the terms of me taking on the role was that they gave a written undertaking that only I could change the board and they would not interfere an frustrate any reasonable story.
“And this is frankly an abuse of these undertakings.”
Broughton believes selling to the group, headed by John William Henry II and Tom Werner, is the best thing for the future of the struggling Merseyside giants, who are third-from-bottom in the Premier League.
He added: “They want to be judged on what they do rather than what they say and can demonstrate what they plan to do by what they have done.
“If you look at the Boston Red Sox as a classic example of taking a very famous, historic, major team that has seen better days and restored them to their glory, I think that is a parallel that demonstrates action.
“Their mentality is all about winning. They have invested a lot of money in players (at Boston) and they have committed to making the necessary investment in players at Liverpool.”