The Liverpool ownership saga has taken another twist, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, telling the club’s owners that he has finally dropped his interest after an unsuccessful two-year pursuit.

Amanda Staveley, who has been negotiating on Sheikh Mohammed’s behalf since the turn of the year, has informed Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr that he is no longer in contention to buy the club because of the financial climate and their refusal to lower an “unrealistic” £600 million valuation.

This was initially regarded in some quarters as a negotiating tactic, but Staveley has told the Americans and their respective legal teams that there is no prospect of a bid for Liverpool being revived.

Hicks and Gillett are aware of other potential investors, at least one of them from the Middle East, but the likelihood is that the club will have to muddle on for the time being.

The owners hope to be granted a six-month extension to their £350million loan from Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia, which expires on January 25, but their long-term prospects at Anfield remain bleak.

Gillett, in particular, recognises the need to sell because of the effects of the credit crunch, but, if Sheikh Mohammed is serious about having dropped his interest, the Americans are in danger of running out of potential buyers.