As the owner of Anfield and founder of Liverpool,

Liverpool's longest-established rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Everton, against whom the club contest the Merseyside derby. Their rivalry stems from Liverpool's formation and the dispute with Everton officials and the then owners of Anfield. Unlike other rivalries, there is no political, geographical or religious split between Liverpool and Everton.[73] The Merseyside derby is usually sold out. It is one of the few local derbies which do not enforce fan segregation, and hence was known as the "friendly derby".[74] Since the mid-1980s, the rivalry has intensified both on and off the field and, since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, the Merseyside derby has had more players sent off than any other Premier League game. It has been referred to as "the most ill-disciplined and explosive fixture in the Premier League".[75]
Liverpool's rivalry with Manchester United is viewed as a manifestation of the cities' competition during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century.[76] The rivalry between the clubs intensified during the 1960s, after Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968, an achievement surpassed by Liverpool's four European Cup victories in the 1970s and 1980s. Manchester United started to dominate English football during the 1990s, making the rivalry all the more intense.[77] The last player to be transferred between the two clubs was Phil Chisnall, who moved to Liverpool from Manchester United in 1964.[78]
Ownership and finances

As the owner of Anfield and founder of Liverpool, John Houlding was the club's first chairman, a position he held from its founding in 1892 until 1904. John McKenna took over as chairman after Houlding's departure.[79] McKenna subsequently became President of the Football League.[80] The chairmanship changed hands many times before John Smith, whose father was a shareholder of the club, took up the role in 1973. He oversaw the most successful period in Liverpool's history before stepping down in 1990.[81] His successor was Noel White who became Chairman in 1990 [82] In August 1991 David Moores, whose family had owned the club for more than 50 years became Chairman. His uncle John Moores was also a shareholder at Liverpool and was chairman of Everton from 1961 to 1973. Moores owned 51 percent of the club, and in 2004 expressed his willingness to consider a bid for his shares in Liverpool.[83]
Photograph

John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of Liverpool
Moores eventually sold the club to American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks on 6 February 2007. The deal valued the club and its outstanding debts at £218.9 million. The pair paid £5,000 per share, or £174.1m for the total shareholding and £44.8m to cover the club's debts.[84] Disagreements between Gillett and Hicks, and the fans' lack of support for them, resulted in the pair looking to sell the club.[85] Martin Broughton was appointed chairman of the club on 16 April 2010 to oversee its sale.[86] In May 2010, accounts were released showing the holding company of the club to be £350m in debt (due to leveraged takeover) with losses of £55m, causing auditor KPMG to qualify its audit opinion.[87] The group's creditors, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, took Gillett and Hicks to court to force them to allow the board to proceed with the sale of the club, the major asset of the holding company. A High Court judge, Mr Justice Floyd, ruled in favour of the creditors and paved the way for the sale of the club to Fenway Sports Group (formerly New England Sports Ventures), although Gillett and Hicks still had the option to appeal.[88] Liverpool was sold to Fenway Sports Group on 15 October 2010 for £300m.[89]
Liverpool has been described as a global brand; a 2010 report valued the club's trademarks and associated intellectual property at £141m, an increase of £5m on the previous year. Liverpool was given a brand rating of AA (Very Strong).[90] In April 2010 business magazine Forbes ranked Liverpool as the sixth most valuable football team in the world, behind Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich; they valued the club at $822m (£532m), excluding debt.[91] Accountants Deloitte ranked Liverpool eighth in the Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks the world's football clubs in terms of revenue. Liverpool's income in the 2009–10 season was €225.3m.[92]
Liverpool reported a £49.4m annual loss in 2011, although this figure does not include a new £25m kit deal with Warrior Sports. In the 2010/2011 season it spent €142m on wages, nearly the same amount as Bayern München, and 2.5 times the amount of Borussia Dortmund