A Fight Brewing? Carlsberg Not Happy With Liverpool Situation

Carlsberg Still Has Confidence In Liverpool Despite Club's Tumultuous Ownership Situation

A "renewed bout of infighting among" EPL club Liverpool FC co-Owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett is "undermining the ... club's relationship with Carlsberg, its biggest sponsor, after the brewer indicated it may not renew" its $13.8M-a-year investment, according to Blitz & Drummond of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Carlsberg is "due to enter into discussions in the spring about renewing their sponsorship," which expires after the '09-10 season, but sources indicated that the brewer was "dismayed at the latest split" among the team's management. A source said Carlsberg execs "certainly don't feel they have been kept in the loop and they never see the two owners together." The source said, "They want a clear direction what they (the owners) want to do with Liverpool. It is very difficult for a sponsor in these circumstances" (FT.com, 1/23). But Carlsberg Senior Int’l Marketing Dir Keld Strudahl said that the company "still has confidence in the way Liverpool ... is being run." Strudahl: "We have confidence in the ownership and confidence in the way they have been running things over the last couple of years" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 1/24).