The London and Hong Kong-based bank has thousands of branches all over the world, and the new managing director at Anfield, Christian Purslow, thinks that this is the start of a worldwide marketing campaign to make Liverpool bigger than Real Madrid or Man Utd in the global market.

Purslow said: “We have a long-term plan to increase the family of Liverpool fans, Many branches in these countries will effectively be a shop window for Liverpool Football Club and a means of attracting more supporters to the cause.”

“As you drive your revenues forward, you try to generate profits and those profits will be used to invest in the future of the club, which, in football speak, often means buying players. From next summer, one of our key income lines, the revenue line, will be substantially increased as a function of this commercial agreement, so a normal ratio of that will go to the wage bill and my ability to support Rafa in the transfer market will be hugely enhanced. We want to be the best football team in the world and there is a pretty clear link between that and having the best performance off the field.”

After than long piece of account-speak, Purslow then clearly gave his support for Rafael Benitez through these troubled times, and maintained that short-term results are not important in the great scheme of things.

“Liverpool Football Club is on a long-term journey and that journey is to be the most successful club, firstly in our country and secondly in the world and you don’t do that by worrying about short-term results. You do that by having long-term plans centring on the people and the strategy. Rafa Benitez is absolutely central to that plan.”

So we can all safely ignore any rumours about the manager being replaced for the forseeable future, even if this run of results doesn’t change in the short-term.