Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo rubbed salt into Liverpool’s wounds as he imitated LeBron James’ celebration after scoring against the Reds on Monday night.
The Bees led 2-1 when Mbeumo forced an error from defender Ibrahima Konate before slotting the ball past Alisson to secure a 3-1 win. The result means Brentford have moved to seventh in the Premier League while Liverpool remain sixth - 15 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Mbeumo notched his fourth goal of the season in the win, but eagle-eyed fans perhaps noticed that he pulled off James’ iconic ‘Silencer’ celebration. The move was perhaps a cheeky slight given the four-time NBA champion is a minority owner of Liverpool.
The celebration also comes after Mbeumo was labelled James’ doppelgänger during the World Cup. Mbeumo’s Cameroon were gunned down by Switzerland in their opening game at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with Breel Embolo securing a 1-0 win - but social media went wild after LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) posted a pair of images of Mbeumo along with caption: “So this why LeBron been out the last 5 games.”
As the tweet and images of Mbeumo went viral, James even saw and re-shared the images. The King commented: “I mean I got work to do in other places too!” - while including a number of laughing emojis.
James owns stakes in sports franchises around the world, serving as a minority owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool through his partnership with Fenway Sports Group. The Los Angeles Lakers forward bought 2% of Liverpool with his business partner Maverick Carter for $6.5m (£4.7m) in April 2011 and it proved to be a particularly lucrative venture.
In March 2022, James, Carter and Paul Wachter exchanged their stakes in Liverpool for part-ownership of FSG. The actual amount is undisclosed, but James is estimated to own around 1% of the group which owns the Red Sox, Fenway Park stadium, Liverpool and NHL franchise Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as half of Roush Fenway Racing and 80% of the New England Sports Network.
Since James became a shareholder in Liverpool, the Reds have enjoyed tremendous success on the pitch. Jurgen Klopp’s side won the Champions League in 2019 before winning their maiden Premier League title the following season.
On the court, James has enjoyed an impressive individual season as he is averaging 28.5 points per game while the Lakers have struggled. The 15-21 Lakers travel to Carolina to take on the 10-27 Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
