Donald Trump US presidential election loss could help Liverpool make billions

Posted Thursday, November 05, 2020 by Express.co.uk

The US presidential election race is proving close between Donald Trump and Joe Biden with votes being counted.

Liverpool's future finances could be impacted massively heading into 2021 if Donald Trump loses the US presidential election. The full results of the election aren't expected to be fully clear until after November 4 despite votes being counted today.

Either Biden or Trump need to win at least 270 electoral college votes.

And Liverpool's owners may well have a vested interested in who ends up being named the next US president.

Fenway Sports Group, led by John W Henry, has been in talks to secure a £6billion merger with American investment firm RedBall Acquisition.

The deal would see RedBall take a 25 per cent stake at Liverpool and would see them listed on the stock market.

Donald Trump US presidential election loss could help Liverpool make billions
Liverpool owners may have a close eye on the US presidential election (Image: GETTY)

And it's been suggested the merger could well see Liverpool increase their global reach.

Reports have claimed Liverpool could well follow in the footsteps of the Red Bull group, who won six teams across the world including RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.

An agreement between the two American businesses isn't expected to change whether Biden or Trump becomes president.

But the deal could be pushed through quicker if Biden wins the election with the Democrat candidate looking to raise capital gains tax from 23.8 per cent to 43.4 per cent.

And Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College in Boston, Massachusetts, and member of the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics, has explained exactly what a Biden victory could mean for Liverpool's plans.

"A motivation in the United States is to take some of the capital gain that John Henry and Tom Werner have experienced and realise that capital gain prior to the, hopefully, new administration that comes in January," Zimbalist told the Liverpool Echo.

"Joe Biden has talked about raising tax rates, which were lowered substantially under Trump.

"Therefore you want to be able to realise your capital gain before that tax rate was lifted."

Donald Trump US presidential election loss could help Liverpool make billions
Liverpool have plans to expand their global reach (Image: GETTY)

He added: "If Biden wins then he would become President on January 20 and it would take some time before he would introduce capital gains legislation.

"There are some more pressing issues that he has to deal with. Once he introduces the legislation it would take a couple of months until it was passed and then it most likely wouldn't be enforced until the following year, meaning January 1 of 2022.

"That window might close more quickly but it also might be open for another 14 months, roughly."

Liverpool's owners have already shelled out £50million on a new training facility in Kirkby.

They will finally move to the state-of-the-art facility this month after coronavirus halted the club's plans to make the switch earlier this summer.