They may have reached the Champions League semi-finals, but Liverpool were heading towards meltdown at boardroom level last night as tensions between rival factions in the club’s hierarchy escalated. After a day in which Tom Hicks, the beleaguered co-owner, failed to force Rick Parry to resign as chief executive, officials at Anfield expressed fears about what may lie ahead unless there is a change of ownership.

Hicks wrote to Parry yesterday formally requesting his resignation and citing perceived failures in the club’s commercial strategy and problems in his relationship with Rafael Benítez, the manager. However, Parry, who has the support of the majority of his fellow board members, immediately issued a statement expressing his intention to “remain focused on the job of serving Liverpool Football Club to the best of my abilities at this very important time of our season”.

Although Parry was seeking legal advice last night, it appears that Hicks has failed in his bid to remove him, with his estranged co-owner, George Gillett Jr, unwilling to support any motion to force out the chief executive. One source at Anfield said that Hicks had “tried to flex his muscles and ended up showing that he is a lot less powerful at this club than he likes to think”, before casting doubts on the Texan’s ability to raise the funds needed to buy out Gillett. The latter has indicated that he would refuse to sell his 50 per cent stake to Hicks.

Dubai International Capital (DIC), the Arab investment group, remains committed to buying out the two American owners, even though Sameer al-Ansari, the company’s chief executive, suggested yesterday that he had decided to “pull out completely” because of the problems in breaking the stalemate that exists between Hicks and Gillett.

Sources have indicated that DIC has merely retreated from the negotiating table, steadfast in its belief that Hicks will be forced to sell if, as it suspects, Merrill Lynch, his latest financial adviser, is unwilling to support him in his bid to raise the capital that he needs. With Hicks so far refusing to reopen talks with DIC, though, there is a sense of anxiety at Anfield over the breakdown of negotiations between various factions at boardroom level.

One source said: “It is poisonous. Hicks cannot stand Gillett. Gillett cannot stand Hicks. Hicks cannot stand Parry. Parry cannot stand Hicks. On the pitch, things are going great, but off the pitch, it’s meltdown.”

Parry, who could not be reached to expand on his earlier statement, was said to be deeply unhappy not only with Hicks’s demand, but also with the manner in which it was delivered.

Although a letter was sent to Anfield, the first that Parry knew of it — he was at a Premier League meeting in London — was from a family member, who had heard the story on Sky Sports News.

They, in turn, were alleged to have received the information indirectly from the Hicks family via a third party, an additional source of disappointment to Parry.

The tension between Hicks and Parry has been well known, but it appears to have worsened after a dispute between Gillett and Ian Ayre, the commercial director, who is an ally of Hicks.

There are suspicions that Hicks’s latest move may have been a tit-for-tat gesture after the undermining of Ayre and it is increasingly difficult to see how Hicks and Parry can coexist — or indeed, how the mess is going to be resolved.