Christian Purslow, who oversaw the sale of Liverpool to New England Sports Ventures, has stepped down as the club's managing director. The 46-year-old will continue at Anfield as a non-executive director and as a special adviser to the new owners.

"I came to LFC to lead the club through a sale process to get the best overall deal including, vitally, the removal of the debt," he said. "I am immensely proud of what we have all achieved. I now look forward to assisting the owners in any way I can at this exciting time as they drive the club forward to a bright future."

The NESV chairman, Tom Werner, said: "We are delighted Christian has accepted our offer to help us and the club, given his great experience and love for Liverpool FC. We will now begin a global search process for a chief executive officer."

Purslow joined the club in the summer of 2009, replacing Rick Parry, who served as chief executive.