Tom Hicks has admitted that he did hold talks, as has been widely speculated, with DIC months ago about a minority stake but that there have been no further discussions since that point.
He also re-iterated his faith in Rafa Benitez and stated that he hopes the manager stays on beyond the summer of 2010.
On DIC:
“I did talk to them about a ten to 15 per cent participation but that was months ago.
“We gave them a valuation as a minority investor but they thought the price was too high. We have had no conversations since then. We would have used that capital towards the new stadium but we will find other ways.
“We have the capital. I have put in a lot of money and we will put in more in if need be. I am very excited about the future of the club. This will be the finest football stadium in the world. People should be very proud of it and I want to win the support of Liverpool fans with my actions.”
On Rafa:
“Rafa has a contract for two more years. He will be here for at least the length of it and hopefully longer than that. He has our full support. Rafa has shown his strong intent to do the right thing with us about the club. He has been a gentleman and we have had much better communication. He has my total backing. I have made that very clear. “
On funding a bid for Mascherano:
“Absolutely. We have never turned down Rafa’s request for money for any player he has asked for. We have funded his transfer request in January and we’re are already having conversations about things in the summer.”
On a fallout with George Gillett:
“George and I get along fine. Sometimes we do not agree but that is what business partners are all about.”