Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks is trying to raise funds to match a takeover offer from a Dubai government-run fund and retain control of the English football club, sources familiar with the negotiations have claimed.

Hicks wants to buy part or all of the 50 per cent of the club he does not own, the sources said. This stake is in the hands of George Gillett, with whom Hicks bought Liverpool a year ago.

Hicks, also owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, and Gillett have received an offer from Dubai International Capital (DIC).

The US billionaires outbid DIC when they bought the club last year, but fell out with each other this season, following some public comments from Hicks about having held talks with German coach Juergen Klinsmann over the possibility of him replacing Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.

"One will end up buying the other out, with Dubai ending up with a smaller stake," one of the sources said.

Hicks, who has said he is not a seller, declined to comment from his office in Texas. Gillett, in Colorado, also declined to comment, as did Liverpool.