A CONSORTIUM led by State-owned financial conglomerate Everbright is not the only Chinese group to have looked at investing in English soccer giant Liverpool, with the club attracting interest from Fosun, property-to-film group Dalian Wanda and others, a person familiar with the matter said.

    Though none have put together a formal bid, according to the person, interest expressed over recent months in one of England’s most storied clubs reflects a significant step-up in China’s drive to become a soccer powerhouse.

    A senior Liverpool source denied Sunday the club’s American owners were planning to sell, but indicated they could be open to offers for a minority stake.

    Since the start of last year, Chinese buyers have spent some US$4 billion on soccer assets large and small, from Italy’s Inter Milan to French second-tier side Auxerre. The soccer land grab has accelerated this year with around US$3 billion worth of deals announced since December, when a group spent US$400 million for a minority stake in the firm that owns Manchester City.

    In recent months, lesser known Chinese buyers have dominated, as in the case of AC Milan, sold by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest to a group of virtually unknown Chinese investors.

    Liverpool’s list of admirers suggests large, high-profile Chinese groups could still be in the wings with the potential for deals to dramatically alter the dynamics of European soccer. Already, teams in China are offering some of the highest salaries in the game.

    Fosun, which has close ties to “super agent” Jorge Mendes, bought Wolverhampton Wanderers in a deal completed last month. Wanda, led by China’s richest man, owns a 20 percent stake in Atletico Madrid and is a major sponsor of FIFA, soccer’s world governing body.

    “Many Chinese are interested,” said the person, who declined to be named. He added Liverpool’s Boston-based owners, Fenway Sports Group, want a valuation of 780 million pounds (US$1.02 billion) and had been looking for a while to sell a minority stake.

    As well as Man City and Wolves, Chinese investors already have stakes — or have announced deals in — English clubs Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion. Sources say Hull City, recently promoted to the English Premier League, and others are also in talks with Chinese investors, lured by a lucrative TV rights deal.

    (SD-Agencies)