George Gillett, former co-owner of Liverpool FC, has died at the age of 87. He bought a 50 per cent stake in Liverpool in 2007 alongside Tom Hicks.
Their time in charge proved deeply unpopular, and they were forced to sell the Reds to Fenway Sports Group in 2010 amid mounting worries about the club's financial future and potential administration. Gillett also owned the Montreal Canadiens from 2001 to 2009.
The Canadiens' owner, president and chief executive officer Geoff Molson announced his passing in a statement.
He said: “On behalf of the entire Canadiens organisation, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to George’s family.
“George immersed himself in the Montreal community and was appreciated by everyone in the organization. We sincerely appreciate his contributions to the Montreal Canadiens during his time as owner.”
Gillett and Hicks took control of the club in 2007 after buying out David Moores' shares. But in March 2008, Gillett admitted his relationship with Hicks had been "unworkable for some time" in a damning interview, revealing he had distanced himself from his partner.
“This partnership has been unworkable for some time, but not because of us,” he told radio station Fan590. “We have tried to be co-operative, we have tried to be supportive but when your public persona is more important than the facts, that makes it difficult to have a rational relationship."
Explaining that he was willing to sell his 50 per cent stake to Hicks but that the Texan billionaire had dragged his feet, Gillett added: "We were very fair. We gave our partner a long period of time to try to make arrangements to buy us out. We didn't put pressure on him but he ultimately did not get to the finish line. In the meantime, because of the things he said, the fans' reaction has been so negative towards him – and towards us if we sold to him – it has now made that an untenable alternative for us. He threatened to block me selling to Dubai [International Capital] – that was certainly one of the things that made the fans upset. Lord knows DIC have the money; with oil prices going up every day, that's not an issue. They certainly have the history and they are fans. I think they would have been very responsible owners
