Liverpool have parted company with their director of football Damien Comolli by mutual consent.
The decision coincides with a wretched run of Premier League form which has seen Kenny Dalglish s side fall way off the Champions League qualification pace, while the majority of signings who arrived at the club under Comolli s watch have failed to make significant impacts.
The Frenchman, who joined the club in November 2010 to work alongside Roy Hodgson, claimed his sudden departure, which was announced just two days before the FA Cup semi-final against Everton, was due to family reasons.
I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work at Liverpool and am happy to move on from the club and back to France for family reasons, he said.
I wish the club all the best for the future.
Comolli, previously employed in a similar role by Tottenham, oversaw a costly overhaul of the squad following Fenway Sports Group s takeover, with the likes of Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing signed for a combined total of over 100 million pounds.
Despite those additions, Liverpool have slipped to eighth place on the Premier League table after a reasonable start to the season, and sit below Merseyside rivals Everton.
The Reds did, however, win the Carling Cup by beating Cardiff City at Wembley in March, thereby ending a six-year wait for silverware.
He s been really helpful in every transfer target we ve gone for. Everyone who has come into the club since Damien has been here was of my choice, Dalglish said.
Once I made the choice who I wanted he went away and did a fantastic job of bringing them in. It s sad to see anyone leave the club and he goes with my best wishes.
Owner John W Henry, who has demanded Dalglish provide a written report into the reasons behind Liverpool s failure to secure a top four place, added: We are grateful for all of Damien s efforts on behalf of Liverpool and wish him all the best for the future.
