Red Sox reportedly up for sale as management shifts focus to Liverpool FC

Red Sox ownership is reportedly looking to sell the team. (Elsa/Getty Images)

The Boston Red Sox are reportedly up for sale, according to a report Thursday morning from Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business Network.

The news comes two years after Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Sox, purchased the soccer club, Liverpool FC of the English Premier League, for $476 million:

While no final decision has been made about a potential sale, and the talks appear to be in the early stages, executives at Fenway Sports are debating  whether they have the financial resources to run both teams, according to people  with direct knowledge of the matter.

Gasparino reported that people who have spoken with management said the price tag for the Sox would be somewhere in the $1.3 billion range. The Sports Group has owned the Sox since 2002, delivering World Series championships in 2004 and 2007. According to Gasparino, the principal owner of the group, John Henry, lost approximately 16-percent in the futures market this year with his Global Analytics fund.

Henry recently wrote an open letter to Liverpool fans stating his committment to the team and his vow not to overspend in the future. Gasparino said the new Liverpool ownership could play into the decision to sell the Sox:

People close to executives inside Fenway say management has been increasingly  focused not on the Red Sox, but on the future of the Liverpool team.

A spokesman for the Sox said Thursday that “there is no truth to that rumor.”