Listen to the full radio interview here

Read the full transcript here

George Gillett Jr has delivered a damning indictment on his relationship with Tom Hicks, his co-owner at Liverpool, admitting that their partnership has become untenable.

The American claims that Hicks's refusal to sell his stake in the club to Dubai International Capital (DIC) for £400 million has led to Gillett's family receiving death threats. Gillett said he also made an offer to sell his share of the club to Hicks, but his partner took too long to make a decision.

In an interview given to Prime Time Sports Radio in Canada, Gillett Jr said: "This partnership [with Hicks] has been unworkable for some time.

“We gave our partner a long period of time to try to make arrangements to buy us out. We didn’t put pressure on him but he ultimately did not get to the finishing line.

“Because of the things he said, the fans’ reaction has been so negative to him that if we sold to him it has been made untenable for us.

“He threatened to block me selling to Dubai - that was certainly one of the things that made the fans upset."

Gillett added that he believes selling to DIC would put the Anfield club in safe hands. "Lord knows DIC have the means with the oil prices going up every day that money was not even an issue," he said. "I think they would have been very responsible owners. But making that not possible or difficult didn’t endear [Hicks] to the fans."

Revealing the fury that the Liverpool supporters have shown since the owners made an approach for Jurgen Klinsmann to replace Rafael Benitez, the manager, Gillett added: "We get as many as 2,000 emails a week. Ninety five per cent of them have been directed at some of the comments made by my partner.

“The fans don’t want him to have even one share of my stake in the club, based on what they are sending to me. As a result of that we have received many phone calls in the middle of the night threatening our lives, death threats. A number came to the office and my son, Foster, and daughter-in-law, Lauren, have received them.”

Gillett did not reveal what he planned to do with his half share of Liverpool now, but said there were “pieces on the chess board moving”.

“What I do know is that the fans and the fabled history of this club deserves better, and we are going to do whatever we can to prove that,” he said.