A timeline of key events during the Liverpool ownership saga, starting with George Gillett and Tom Hicks buying the club until the takeover by New England Sports Ventures on Friday:
- Feb. 6, 2007 - George Gillett and Tom Hicks agree a takeover of Liverpool. ''We have purchased the club with no debt on the club,'' announces Gillett. The takeover is worth a reported 435 million pounds ($697 million). Hicks and Gillett back the club's plans for a new 60,000-capacity stadium, with Gillett saying the ''shovel needs to be in the ground in the next 60 days.'' By mid-March, they have announced plans to redesign the stadium to reduce costs.
- March 27, 2007 - The takeover is completed.
- July 4, 2007 - Less than two months after losing the Champions League final, Liverpool pays a reported 20 million pounds ($32 million) to make Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres its most expensive signing yet. Manager Rafa Benitez also signs Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun as part of a 44 million pound ($70 million) spending spree during the offseason.
- Nov. 22 2007 - At a news conference, Benitez responds to being told by the American owners he cannot make changes to his squad in January unless he sells players, by repeating the phrase ''I am focused on training and coaching my team'' 15 times.
- Jan. 2008 - Hicks and Gillett secure a 350 million pounds ($561 million) loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia to repay previous loans and begin work on the new stadium. Some of the debt is loaded onto the club, the rest is taken on by Kop Holdings, the holding company set up by Hicks and Gillett when they bought the club.
- March 29, 2008 - Gillett admits the relationship between himself and Hicks has broken down completely. Gillett claims Hicks blocked an attempt to sell the club to Dubai International Capital for 400 million pounds ($641 million). Gillett also says he tried to sell his stake in the club to Hicks, but the latter could not raise the funds.
- Sept. 13, 2008 - Liverpool fans' group Spirit of Shankly stages a protest march to Anfield, accusing Hicks and Gillett of ''ruining our club.'' The protests will continue throughout the rest of the pair's stay at Anfield.
- Feb. 25, 2009 - Chief executive Rick Parry announces he will leave the club at the end of the season after a rumored falling out with both Hicks and Benitez.
- June 22, 2009 - Christian Purslow is appointed managing director, and given the task of finding 100 million pounds ($160 million) investment to satisfy the club's major creditor, RBS.
- Jan. 11, 2010 - Tom Hicks Jr. resigns as a director of Liverpool after sending a foul-mouthed e-mail to a supporter. Commercial director Ian Ayre and financial director Philip Nash join the board.
- April 6, 2010 - Hicks and Gillett fail to meet a deadline set by Rhone Group to respond to an offer of 118.5 million pounds ($190 million) for a 40 percent stake in the club.
- April 16, 2010 - Hicks and Gillett confirm Liverpool is up for sale. ''Having grown the club this far we have now decided together to look to sell the club to owners committed to take the club through its next level of growth and development,'' the pair say in a statement. Martin Broughton, a Chelsea fan and chairman of British Airways, is appointed as interim chairman to oversee the sale.
- May 7, 2010 - Liverpool's financial results are released for the year ending July 2009 - a year in which the club finished second in the Premier League and reached the Champions League quarterfinals. They show Kop Holdings taking a pre-tax loss of 54.9 million pounds. Interest payments on loans account for 40.1 million pounds.
- June 3, 2010 - Benitez leaves Liverpool after a season in which the club finished seventh in the Premier League, missing out on Champions League qualification.
- Oct. 5, 2010 - Liverpool says it has received two ''excellent financial offers'' to buy the club, one from Asia and the other from the owners of the Boston Red Sox, New England Sports Ventures.
- Oct. 6, 2010 - Liverpool accepts a 300 million pound ($480 million) offer from NESV. Hicks and Gillett say both bids undervalue the club and try to block the sale by removing Purslow and Ayre from the board and replacing them with Hicks' son and the vice president of Hicks Holdings.
- Oct. 12, 2010 - At a High Court hearing in London, RBS claims Hicks and Gillett have breached the terms of its loan agreement. Hicks and Gillett say the board did not consider all the bids on the table, and excluded the Americans from talks. Meanwhile, Singapore businessman Peter Lim increases his offer to 320 million pounds ($513 million), and another interested party, Mill Financial (which is now the owner of Gillett's stake), emerges during the court hearing.
- Oct. 13, 2010 - The High Court rules in favor of RBS, and Hicks and Gillett have no right of appeal. NESV's John Henry arrives in London to wrap up his purchase of the club, but the deal is again held up when Hicks and Gillett reveal they have won a temporary restraining order from a Texas State District Court and plan to sue for 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in damages.
- Oct. 14, 2010 - RBS is back at the London High Court, which again finds in the bank's favor and rules that ''this case has nothing to do with Texas.''
- Oct. 15, 2010 - On the day their RBS loan is due, Hicks and Gillett withdraw the restraining order, and amid chaotic scenes outside a London law firm, Henry celebrates NESV's takeover of Liverpool. Hicks and Gillett drop their damages claim.
