Saturday October 15 - 15:40
"This has been one of the best trips I've ever been on," enthuses LeBron James just moments before boarding the coach that will take him to Liverpool John Lennon Airport to fly back to the States. It's been a non-stop 48 hours in the city and the Miami Heat star and as good as meeting the players was at Melwood on Friday, the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly this afternoon's showdown with Manchester United. "What a match!" he says. "Steven Gerrard is my favourite player because he's the captain and the leader and even though he has been out injured this season, what a comeback he made today. When he scored his goal, it was a brilliant moment - not just for me but for all the Liverpool fans in the ground. The fans were amazing. They didn't stop singing from the first moment to the last minute."
"This has been one of the best trips I've ever been on," enthuses LeBron James just moments before boarding the coach that will take him to Liverpool John Lennon Airport to fly back to the States. It's been a non-stop 48 hours in the city and the Miami Heat star and as good as meeting the players was at Melwood on Friday, the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly this afternoon's showdown with Manchester United. "What a match!" he says. "Steven Gerrard is my favourite player because he's the captain and the leader and even though he has been out injured this season, what a comeback he made today. When he scored his goal, it was a brilliant moment - not just for me but for all the Liverpool fans in the ground. The fans were amazing. They didn't stop singing from the first moment to the last minute."
Having sipped tea in the club boardroom pre-game, Chairman Tom Werner accompanied him pitchside before the game so he could soak up the atmosphere from the dugout area before taking his seat in the Directors Box, where he proceeded to film the Kop singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' on his phone. Throughout the game, he was off his seat every time Liverpool went close before jumping up to applaud Steven Gerrard's goal. 'One of the single best experiences of my life,' he tweeted after the final whistle. So can we expect to see him back in Liverpool anytime soon? "Absolutely," he says before boarding the coach and waving goodbye to the fans stood on the Anfield Road.
Saturday October 15 - 10:34
'That's LeBron, isn't it Dad?' One fan in the Main Stand carpark has just spotted the basketball star walking towards the Directors' Entrance at Anfield. Basketball might not be the most popular of sports in England but it seems Liverpool fans certainly know who LeBron James is. In the Directors' Box, LeBron and his colleagues, all decked out in smart suits and Liverpool FC ties, take great delight in posing for pictures with quaint cups of English tea, while watching Wales play rugby on the TV screen. 'I've got to put this on Twitter,' he says.
'That's LeBron, isn't it Dad?' One fan in the Main Stand carpark has just spotted the basketball star walking towards the Directors' Entrance at Anfield. Basketball might not be the most popular of sports in England but it seems Liverpool fans certainly know who LeBron James is. In the Directors' Box, LeBron and his colleagues, all decked out in smart suits and Liverpool FC ties, take great delight in posing for pictures with quaint cups of English tea, while watching Wales play rugby on the TV screen. 'I've got to put this on Twitter,' he says.
Saturday October 15 - 09:45
He may possibly be one of the greatest basketball players ever but with a ball in his hand, he looks nervous. LeBron James is at an LFC Community event at the Respect 4 All centre in south Liverpool with 20 local children with severe mental or physical disabilities and he's just watched one youngster shoot a hoop fully blindfolded. Now it's his turn and with a blindfold over his eyes, he waits to hear one of the coaches tap the edge of the rim with a pole to indicate where he needs to aim. 'Damn, this looks hard,' he admits before starting his run up. With everyone watching and waiting - the children, their parents, the coaches, club staff and his girlfriend and friends - he bounces the basketball twice, runs and... misses! He tries again and misses again. He sees the funny side and admits this isn't about him today - it's about supporting the children who are growing up less fortunate than himself.
He spends an hour at the centre, playing with the children, pushing their wheelchairs, holding their hands as the blind children dribble a football towards a goal and posing for pictures.
He may possibly be one of the greatest basketball players ever but with a ball in his hand, he looks nervous. LeBron James is at an LFC Community event at the Respect 4 All centre in south Liverpool with 20 local children with severe mental or physical disabilities and he's just watched one youngster shoot a hoop fully blindfolded. Now it's his turn and with a blindfold over his eyes, he waits to hear one of the coaches tap the edge of the rim with a pole to indicate where he needs to aim. 'Damn, this looks hard,' he admits before starting his run up. With everyone watching and waiting - the children, their parents, the coaches, club staff and his girlfriend and friends - he bounces the basketball twice, runs and... misses! He tries again and misses again. He sees the funny side and admits this isn't about him today - it's about supporting the children who are growing up less fortunate than himself.
He spends an hour at the centre, playing with the children, pushing their wheelchairs, holding their hands as the blind children dribble a football towards a goal and posing for pictures.
"I'm happy to be here to lend my support to these kids who have challenging lives," he said. "Sport makes a difference in everyone's life, and especially in these kids' lives. These kids get an opportunity to forget what's going on in their personal lives and have sport around them. They have soccer, they have basketball and other sports around them, and they have these great people around them who help them forget what may be going on in their own personal lives, so sport plays a big part and you can see the smiles on these kids' faces."
Before he leaves, he presents the LFC Community Department with a cheque for $10,000 to go towards the building of a new Respect 4 All centre in north Liverpool. Nice touch.
Saturday 15 October - 07.50
LeBron James is up early. After eating out in Liverpool city centre last night, the Miami Heat star is having breakfast in the Hillbark Hotel on the Wirral and talking to fellow fans about what to expect from his first ever match at Anfield. He visited the stadium yesterday and took a tour of the dressing rooms, tunnel area and museum but today he knows, with 45,000 fans present, it's going to be a completely different experience.
On his @KingJames Twitter account, he tweets: 'The locals here in Liverpool are so excited about today's game. I am as well! It's going to be AMAZING!'
LeBron James is up early. After eating out in Liverpool city centre last night, the Miami Heat star is having breakfast in the Hillbark Hotel on the Wirral and talking to fellow fans about what to expect from his first ever match at Anfield. He visited the stadium yesterday and took a tour of the dressing rooms, tunnel area and museum but today he knows, with 45,000 fans present, it's going to be a completely different experience.
On his @KingJames Twitter account, he tweets: 'The locals here in Liverpool are so excited about today's game. I am as well! It's going to be AMAZING!'
Friday October 14 - 16:23
LeBron James is sat in the LFC TV studio waiting to be grilled with the toughest set of questions he's faced since landing in England. "Connor would like to know are you taller than his dad? Ella would like to know if you're taller than a giraffe? While Milly wants to know what size trainers you wear?" Welcome to 'Smalltalk with LeBron James', the show where 7-year-old Scouse kids get to ask the questions. LeBron loves the questions! Make sure you tune in to find out the answers when the show airs on LFC TV in the next couple of weeks.
Friday October 14 - 15:23
LeBron James has just brought the official club store to a standstill after spending 20 minutes shopping for scarves and clothes for his two young boys back home. In total, LeBron and his travelling party spent over £300 in the shop before causing much laughter amongst watching fans by attempting to 'shoot' a small LFC football into a basket 10 yards away. He missed.
Friday October 14 - 14:54
"That is an amazing trophy! Can I hold it up?" LeBron James, basketball superstar, is staring at the European Cup we won in Istanbul in 2005. He's just been told the full story of how AC Milan officials were sipping champagne at half-time, thinking they'd already won the final and after listening again to how we pulled off the greatest sporting comeback ever, all he can say is, 'Amazing!' When the cabinet is unlocked to take the trophy out, he hands his girlfriend his mobile phone and asks her to take a picture of him holding it. "I won't drop it," he jokes, having just heard the tale of how Milan baros put a big dent in it.
Friday October 14 - 14:20
A quick stop for a drink in the Bootroom restaurant at Anfield and then it's on for a tour of the museum. Before he leaves, he's asked by the club's Museum Curator Stephen Done if he could understand a word Kenny Dalglish said to him when he met him after training at Melwood. "Not really," he laughs. "He just said something about me being taller than him!"
Friday October 14 - 13:54
Next stop Anfield for LeBron James after a flying visit to Melwood, the club's training ground. Although he only arrived after the players had finished their training, he did get to meet most of the first team, say hello, wish them luck for tomorrow and hand them each a present - a set of personalised LFC BeatsbyDre headphones.
Next stop Anfield for LeBron James after a flying visit to Melwood, the club's training ground. Although he only arrived after the players had finished their training, he did get to meet most of the first team, say hello, wish them luck for tomorrow and hand them each a present - a set of personalised LFC BeatsbyDre headphones.
Thursday October 13 - 20:10
Flight N119FM from Bedford, Massachusetts has touched down at John Lennon Airport with LeBron James on board. It's the Miami Heat star's first time in Liverpool as he embarks on a non-stop 48 hours that will see him take a tour of the stadium, record a show in the LFC TV studio, visit a community project for children with disabilities and, of course, take in Liverpool versus Manchester United at Anfield.
On the car journey to his hotel, he gets his phone out and logs onto Twitter and types: "Just got to Liverpool, England. Riding through the city. What a beautiful place. Home and birthplace of the One and Only "BEATLES"
That tweet was sent out to two and half million people across the globe. The Liverpool Tourism Office will be delighted.
That tweet was sent out to two and half million people across the globe. The Liverpool Tourism Office will be delighted.
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He's one of the most famous sportsmen in the world and this weekend, for the first time, he's in Liverpool to see for himself why millions of fans across the globe are so passionate about Liverpool Football Club.
LeBron James, the 26-year old Miami Heat star and Olympic Gold medalist, may not grab too many headlines in the UK but across the Atlantic and in China, where basketball is the number one sport, he's an A-list superstar and widely regarded as the greatest player since Michael Jordan.
On Twitter alone, his @KingJames account has over two and half million followers and having been introduced to the LFC family by John Henry and Tom Werner earlier this year - taking a minority shareholding in the club back in April - he's been helping to introduce a whole new audience to England's most successful football club.
Now this Saturday, when Liverpool host Manchester United, he'll experience the Anfield atmosphere for himself as he takes his seat in the Directors Box, exactly one year to the day since the club was saved from the brink of bankruptcy and over the next 48 hours, we'll be following his every move around Liverpool in this live blog and via our Twitter account @LFC...
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