Liverpool loan repayments set to sky-rocket

One of Liverpool's two major creditors, the Royal Bank of Scotland, has told the club that its debt will be refinanced ahead of the 24th July deadline originally set for repayment. Liverpool owe some US$580 million to both RBS and Wachovia in America and can now expect loan repayments, at least on the RBS debt, to swell over the next six months.

Although the new package all but guarantees the club will not go bust in the next six months, it means Liverpool will almost certainly have to sell to finance manager Rafa Benitez's plans to revamp his squad this summer. The US$27.5 million signing of Portsmouth defender Glen Johnson has already been agreed, but exactly where the cash will come from from isn't quite so clear.

Liverpool co-owner George Gillett's US$550 million sale of his ice hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens, has come just in the nick of time and provides both RBS and Wachovia with the guarantees they need that Gillett at least has funds to operate his soccer business, if not fund transfers.

Hicks, meanwhile, is keen to offload one or two of his own sports interests in order to bolster Liverpool's fragile finances. The Texan has a sports empire that includes major stakes in MLB side Texas Rangers and NHL franchise Dallas Stars.

Although Wachovia has yet to make an announcement on its portion of the debt, the American bank is expected to follow RBS's lead in reconfiguring Liverpool's repayment plan.

* Liverpool FC: The world's 27th most valuable sports property

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