LeBron James in England to attend Liverpool’s match against Manchester United – NBA Update
LeBron James – the lad from Liverpool.
This is the punch line that is fast becoming common in the town of the Reds as the NBA superstar prepares to sit in the crowd for English football club Liverpool.
James is a minority owner in the English Premier League club, which will be playing against archrivals and current premier league champions, Manchester United.
Commonly known as the Red Devils, Manchester United are the most recognizable sports brand in the world, whereas Liverpool are one of the biggest English clubs and a European powerhouse. United have won 19 English domestic league
titles so far, while Liverpool have 18 to their name, most of them won during the club’s golden days, back in the 1970s and 1980s.
The game between the traditional rivals is one of the biggest spectacles in football, with an estimated 500 million viewers turning in to watch their previous encounter. That game was won 3 – 1 by the Red Devils.
Upon arriving in Liverpool, James confirmed that he will definitely attend the game while at the port city,
"Yeah, I'm going for sure!" James told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard on Thursday night. "Wouldn't miss this one! Biggest game in the world probably."
Earlier upon reaching the city, James tweeted to let his fans know about his arrival,
"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.'"
James got into the football ownership in April this year, when Fenway Sports Group made a deal with James to become the sole marketer of his rights globally. In return, LeBron and manager Maverick Carter were installed as minority
shareholders in Liverpool.
The move not only benefited LeBron, but Fenway Sports Group also got the opportunity to raise the profile of Liverpool football club in the United States of America. The club was purchased by John. W. Henry last year, whose group
also operates the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise in America.
Under normal circumstances LeBron would not have been able to attend the game as the English Premier League runs from August to May, parallel to the NBA regular season and playoffs. However the player does have time on the hands
because of the NBA lockout, which began on July 1st and looks set to continue.
The dispute over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement has actually been going on for years and formal negotiation between the NBA owners, NBA Commissioner David Stern and the National Basketball Players Association began back
in 2010.
The sides have been meeting in earnest since September, but after initially some progress was thought to have been made, it is now clear that both sides are miles apart on virtually all issues. If the matter is not resolved soon,
the entire NBA season could be cancelled.
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