Robert Kraft, one of the most influential and successful men in North American professional sport, said yesterday that he had drawn back from buying Liverpool in 2005 because of the unregulated finances of top-level European football.

The owner of the New England Patriots, who have won the NFL’s Super Bowl three times this decade, and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, Kraft felt that the constant upward spiral of transfer fees and wages that favours a few wealthy clubs was a deal-breaker. A salary cap – common in American sport and an aim of Michel Platini, the Uefa president, would have changed his mind.

“I wanted to do it,” he said. “I met with David Moores [the former Liverpool owner], who is a fine gentlemen, and we came very close to buying it, very close. But in the end, my instinct was - not without a salary cap. If a salary cap come to the English Premier League, I’d buy a team in a minute.”

Kraft is an anglophile, who regularly visits Wimbledon and Royal Ascot. He is a friend of Sir Elton John, the former Watford owner, who communicated his enjoyment at owning the team he had supported as a boy. Moreover, Kraft admits that he overpaid to buy the New England Patriots 15 years ago, building a run-down organisation into the most successful NFL team of the 21st century so far. But he would not allow his heart to rule his head when the chance came to buy Liverpool.

“I had the same feeling as I did about the Patriots and I was ready to do something that was not quite economic but my head held me back,” he said. “There were things I knew I could do with the Patriots because I grew up with the culture. Any business you go into, it’s important to understand what you don’t know, and then get the best people to fill in. In soccer, I knew there were a lot of things I didn’t know - the ref situation, how transfer fees worked – I never wanted to have to sell a player to survive.

“I loved the fans. Just like Patriot fans, they are loyal, passionate, which has zero book value on your balance sheet but is worth a lot. I knew we could do the stadium. I knew we could design it so it was fan-friendly, to maximise revenue, lowest cost - build the stadium for £100 million less than anyone else and have it be great, because we had done it in New England. I was willing to do it, but the lack of salary cap, in the end - I never like to get in over my head. If the salary cap was there, then we would have done it.”

The NFL’s salary cap – which is under renegotiation – ensures that no team, however affluent its local market, can outspend any other on player wages. The result has been that, although Kraft’s Patriots have won three of the past ten Super Bowls, there have also been six other winners, with seven other teams reaching the end-of-season decider. The Premier League has only been won by four teams since its inception in 1992. Over the same period, 11 different teams have won the Super Bowl.

The vindication of Kraft’s decision not to proceed with the purchase of Liverpool has arguably been the constantly strained relationship between Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, and George Gillette and Tom Hicks, the Americans who did buy the club, caused by the need to compete financially with Chelsea, Manchester United and European rivals.

“If we’re playing by the same rules, then it’s not just about who has the most money,” he said. “Green Bay, Kansas City or Arizona – who went to the Super Bowl last year – have to believe that they can win. In the Premier League you can see that there will always be a few teams that are dominant, and I don’t know that it’s fair to the passionate fans in the other cities.

“I would be interested in other teams in the Premier League, but Liverpool was a unique franchise, with a great following. The coach of my Major League Soccer team is Stevie Nichol, who played up there. We sort of have stuff sent to us all the time, but I think, deep down, until there’s some sort of salary cap structure, I’m not sure it’s a great business deal.”

Not, Kraft insisted, that he is in sport solely to increase his considerable personal fortune. “I would have been happy to break even and see asset value,” he said. “For the first two or three years I had to put capital into the Patriots to build it up and I was happy to do that.

“I’m not in sport to make money. I don’t like to go into a team because of real estate. If you buy a team in a sports league, winning is the bottom line. You win, everything else comes. You make money if you do well on the field. I want to be in a position to compete equally to win.”

Transfer fees are another area that Kraft sees as out of control. “Think about it: £80 million or whatever for one player,” he said. “The guy’s career can be ended in one play. I want a business that is a sound business. I would love, one day, to be in this – but I would like it to be regulated.”

If that could be guaranteed, Kraft would back his way of running a team against any rivals. “I’m happy to compete if the rules are the same for everybody, and then we’ll see how we well we manage against other people. I think we’re pretty good business people and we’ve gone through the learning curve of knowing what to do to build a winning organization – in any sport.”

So if Platini and his buddies at Uefa deliver a salary cap? “I’m in.”

Kraft was in London to promote the Patriots' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley in October, the third regular-season NFL game to be played here. One day he can see the Patriots returning to play against local opposition.

"For the time zone and the language, a lot of things, [the NFL] could expand and eventually have a franchise here," he said. "I’m not making policy, I’m just telling you what my sense is as a businessman, and a few key people in the league agree with me. I realistically can see one that would be wildly successful. If there was a way I could own it through one of my kids, I’d like to do it."

Super Bowl winners since the inception of the Premier League (11): Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots (3); Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers (2); Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, St Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1).

Premier League Champions (4): Manchester United (11); Arsenal (3); Chelsea (2), Blackburn Rovers (1).