Posted By: Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
For the first time since he became a minority owner of Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League in April, LeBron James was in the crowd at iconic Anfield to see the team play.
Saturday’s game was televised live on ESPN2. It was the first meeting between the two English giants since Manchester United won the league championship in May and passed Liverpool as the winningest club in the country’s history. United has won 19 titles in England’s top flight to Liverpool’s 18.
Liverpool talisman Steven Gerrard looked to have given the Reds a victory before Chicharito scored to earn Manchester United a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
“Yeah, I’m going for sure!” James told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard Thursday night. “Wouldn’t miss this one! Biggest game in the world probably.”
In April, as part of an agreement with Fenway Sports Group to become the sole marketer of his rights globally, James and manager Maverick Carter were installed as minority shareholders in Liverpool, which ranked as England’s most renowned club globally in the 1970s and 1980s but hasn’t won the league title since 1990.
Liverpool was purchased in October 2010 by John W. Henry and the group that owns and operates the Boston Red Sox.
According to the Guardian newspaper in London, Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat of Manchester United last season attracted an estimated 500 million viewers worldwide, whereas the Super Bowl is watched by 20 million viewers outside of the United States.
“Just got to Liverpool, England,” James tweeted Thursday. “Riding through the city. What a beautiful place. Home and birthplace of the One and Only ‘BEATLES.’ ”
The Premier League season runs from August through May, which is virtually concurrent with the NBA calendar, but the league’s ongoing lockout — heading into its 106th day Friday — has afforded James an opportunity to make an unexpected in-season visit to Anfield.
WRITTEN BY Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. Chris Broussard is a senior NBA writer for ESPN The Magazine & FULL STORY HERE
Follow Marc Stein on Twitter:Â @stein_line_HQ
