This week, Adidas confirmed what had been one of the worst kept secrets in football in recent months - that their long-standing partnership with Liverpool was coming to an end.
In a stereotypical case of publicly laundering dirty linen, chief executive Herbert Hainer claimed that the Reds' on-field performances was the key reason for the breakdown.
Financially, the renewed acquaintance never scaled the heights Liverpool had hoped when the pair were enjoying the peak of their respective popularity in the mid to late 1980's.
Suggestions of sour grapes from the German sportswear giant, who will be replaced next season by Warrior Sports, are somewhat justified but Liverpool have been faltering commercially.
Some would argue that they have been swimming against the commercial tide on the advent of the Premier League when Manchester United opened their first megastore while David Moores, Liverpool's former owner, allowed the club to remain a corner shop commodity.
Worryingly for the current Anfield hierarchy, the club's stock off the pitch has been on the wane in some of its former strongholds across Asia compared to their Premier League rivals.
In Singapore, a country whose population barely exceeds five million, Liverpool are now a third-choice team at best with United and to a lesser extent Arsenal, vying for the affections of the nation's football fanatics.
A selected audience of over 3,000 supporters were at Bishan Stadium, with several thousands locked outside, to witness a pre-season training session last July but Liverpool's pulling power in the Far East has vastly diminished since their halcyon days.
Their previous trip to the country, in summer 2009, was met with a substantially greater volume of support after Rafael Benitez's side finished second in the league during the previous season.
His departure and the ensuing demise of the club thereafter, combined with United's recent unprecedented success, has seen them fall dramatically down the pecking order.
Arsenal's stature has increased since the foundation of a club-affiliated soccer school in 2004 while Chelsea have launched a family-orientated assualt on the country's football fantatics.
Liverpool have attempted to recapture the ground lost through their landmark sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered bank and a series of football-related initiatives.
Several Chinese players have enjoyed trials at the club's youth set-up in recent months which will help expand their Asian fan base in the long-term should any make permanent moves.
Gavin Laws, the bank's sponsorship executive, insisted that Liverpool's absence from Champions League football did not have a bearing on their preferred audience in Asia.
But the loss of Europe's premier club competition has impacted upon the club's fan base on the continent, whose body clocks do not tally with those of corporate banking giant targets.
United's widespread popularity shows no signs of declining while the resurgence of rivals Manchester City will earn them a new-found global following to match the two London centric clubs.
In order to compete, Liverpool's Asian offensive has taken a back seat in order to restore their place at the top table of continental football with a renewed assault on the top four.
The deal with Warrior represents a bold move for the club as the New Balance subsidiary are relatively unknown globally and untested in football but is also double Adidas' current deal.
At £25million per year, combined with the Standard Chartered deal, will see Kenny Dalglish armed with a summer transfer war chest of an initial £40million to strengthen, if required.
With the club also now boasting 13 commercial partners, something which former owner Tom Hicks infamously advocated, Liverpool are finally starting to punch their off-field weight.
A lack of Champions League football, however, and the ongoing wrangle over their future stadium underlines why further work needs to be undertaken off the pitch as well as on it.
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