Premier League chairman gives honest verdict on Liverpool owner John Henry amid spending claim

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has delivered his verdict on Liverpool counterpart John Henry.

Foley completed a takeover of the Cherries worth £120 million in December 2022. As a result, Bournemouth became the 10th club in the Premier League to have an American owner.

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) acquired a £300 million purchase of Liverpool in 2010 from fellow Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

Under FSG, the Reds re-established themselves at the pinnacle of European football. Liverpool have won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, two League Cups, the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup in the past 13 years. Meanwhile, an expansion of Anfield means the capacity of the stadium will be at 61,000 next season while £50 million was spent on the state-of-the-art AXA Training Centre.

However, the Boston-based group have some detractors among the Liverpool fan base. They claim that FSG do not spend enough when it comes to transfers.

But Foley, speaking on talkSPORT earlier this week, reckons that Henry is ‘great’.

He said: "We have some great ones. John Henry is a great owner - and so successful.

“Wes Edens (Aston Villa owner) is a good friend of mine and we just spent time together two days ago and spoke about some of the things he's involved in. We spent a lot of time on the Premier League, he's a very common, down-to-earth guy.

“There are a lot of really good American owners. I know how to be respectful, I know how to listen and to make sure we're part of the community. We're not an American club, we're an English Premier League club and I'm going to keep it that way. We're not changing.”

Foley has owned ice hockey team Vegas Golden Knights since 2016 after the NHL expanded the number of franchises in the league.

This year, the Golden Knights claimed their maiden Stanley Cup in just their sixth season.

Foley stated that a salary cap in the NHL has allowed the Nevada-based outfit to compete with the prestigious teams such as Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and the FSG-owned Pittsburgh Penguins.

And while Foley respects the rules in place in the Premier League, he's admitted he would like to see 'more control' over spending limits.

“It's always a good time (to invest in the Premier League) because from my view, lower-table teams are undervalued,” added Foley. There is a lot of value that can be created.

“In the NHL, I'm not saying this is what the Premier League should or should not do, we have a hard salary cap and everyone has to operate within that cap and if you go over that cap, you can't play players.

“That has brought a lot of quality to the NHL and it's why a team like ours in Las Vegas was able to win the Stanley Cup and perform because we're all operating under the same rules.

“I would like to see, if it's possible at some point, a little more control over the spending because we obviously can't spend with the sovereigns, we're not competitive. But, in the meantime, I believe we can do very well in our own means and improve our club, satisfy our fans and play exciting football.

“I'm one team one guy and being respectful to the Premier League and how they run their league. I'm not the guy to create change, I want to be part of the club not the outlier.”