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Liverpool headed for victory on Friday in a battle to shake off their unloved American owners and secure a takeover by the company behind Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox.
A Texas judge provided the breakthrough by lifting a restraining order that had prevented New England Sports Ventures (NESV) ousting the English Premier League club's co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Liverpool, the five-times European champions who are one of England's greatest clubs and possess a brand of global stature, still face a protracted legal battle in a saga that has overshadowed their troubled start to the season.
Lawyers for Hicks and Gillett vowed to fight on "with all of their legal energies" in a claim for damages of $1.6 billion after a sale the owners slammed as "illegal" and "an extraordinary swindle".
A statement also said that the pair had offered to pay outstanding debt to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) but that attempt was rejected. A spokesman for the bank was not immediately available for comment.
"This outcome not only devalues the Club but it also will result in long-term uncertainty for the fans, players and everyone who loves this sport because all legal recourses will be pursued," said their Texas lawyer Steve Stodghill in a statement.
EUPHORIC FANS
The pair had been granted the temporary restraining order on Wednesday, pouring cold water on euphoric fans who had been celebrating a High Court ruling that the owners could not block the sale by sacking board members.
The club's board have agreed a 300 million pound ($480.8 million) deal with NESV, whose owner John W Henry dismissed the latest move by his rivals.
"We have a binding contract," Henry said on his Twitter feed. "Will fight Mill Hicks Gillett attempt to keep club today. Their last desperate attempt to entrench their regime."
Hicks had been linked to a separate deal with U.S. hedge fund Mill Financial, who had sought to take a Premier League 'owners' and directors' test as a preliminary to their own takeover.
A Premier League spokesman said the application had been turned down because the soccer body, who have already approved ownership by NESV, would only deal with the club's legally constituted board.
(Additional reporting by Simon Evans in Miami and Ed Stoddard in Dallas; Editing by Kevin Fylan; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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