Liverpool's principal owner John Henry has defended his dual tenure of the Merseyside club and the Boston Red Sox amid claims of being overburdened with responsibility for the sporting giants.
While Liverpool supporters have never been overly concerned that their owners have alternative concerns - in fact, their successful running of the Red Sox was considered a major asset in their favour when they bought the club - it has evidently caused rancour in Boston.
A decline in results in Major League Baseball, especially last season, has inevitably created a situation where many at Fenway Park would rather Henry had never bothered moving into the Premier League.
In an interview published in the Boston Globe, Henry fends off the claims Liverpool are "a distraction" and points out he has been a rare, recent visitor to Merseyside.
"I think it's affected perceptions. I mean, everything affects you. But the things that have been said, repeated over and over again, are fairly ludicrous," he said. "The last time I was in Liverpool I think was in May of last year. I don't know where this fraction comes from.
"You can say every major league owner is distracted if you want to try and make a case for it because they all have other businesses, other endeavors. I think they all do. The major thing is the perception.
"Imagine if I had nothing else to do other than run the Red Sox? What do you think would be different?"
Henry admitted some of the Red Sox's supporters do harbour concerns.
"I would say some of them are not OK because they read the same stuff that you write and probably some of them think we are distracted. But we aren't. Last year's losses on the field weren't the result of Liverpool," Henry said.
"I would say all three of us are intimately involved every day with everything that goes on at Fenway Sports Group. But every day is different. You have different issues that come up just about every day."
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