The figure of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum looms large over the Dubai skyline.
The ruler of Dubai can be seen fastened onto various grandiose buildings en route in from the Emirate State's international airport and for those who have been at Liverpool long enough, the image of the region's Emir offers a fleeting reminder of what might have been at Anfield in another world.
It was back in 2006 when Dubai International Capital attempted to purchase the keys to the Shankly Gates from then-chairman David Moores, before the plug was eventually pulled and attention was turned to Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
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DIC, who are owned by the government here, were weighing up a potential £156m-takeover at Liverpool in late 2006 before a statement confirming their withdrawal was published amid competition from Gillett at the time.
What may seem like ancient history now, however, is made all the more poignant given that Liverpool are in Dubai for the first time and the ownership of Anfield is once more up for grabs as far as Fenway Sports Group are considered. Dubai, perhaps inevitably, has been linked with a return to the negotiations table on Merseyside.
As a result, it didn't take long for Liverpool supporters to put two and two together to make five hundred earlier this week. As Jurgen Klopp was pictured greeting the crown prince of Dubai and chairman of the executive council, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, upon his arrival into the region earlier this week.
'Meeting our new owners,' was the general gist of the half-baked and tongue-in-cheek theories. The reality, however, is more straightforward for a club whose plans for a mid-season trip to Dubai during the World Cup began way before any real effort from FSG to explore their Anfield exit strategy.
Liverpool settled on Dubai and the world-renowned Nad al Sheba Complex for their training needs after initially looking at the mid-season merits of a base in South Africa. The Reds have always been hugely impressed with the facilities on offer at the NAS Complex - a base that has previously aided the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Virgil van Dijk - but the deciding factor in the call to fly into the Middle East this World Cup break is the logistical convenience.
It's less than an hour's flight from Qatar, where the World Cup is being held, to Dubai, which enables the easier transfer of players who have been knocked out of the international competition. The irony now, however, is that only Darwin Nunez is expected to reap the benefits as he gets set to meet up with his club-mates on Monday following Uruguay's dramatic exit in the final seconds of the group stages.
With Ibrahima Konate, Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson all part of the last-16 and quarter-final ties, Klopp will be picking from the same 33-man contingent he flew out with for friendlies with Lyon, with Nunez the only other player available after that for Friday's meeting with AC Milan.
Despite that, however, supporters in Dubai have plenty of star power to be wowed by when the games get underway at the Al Maktoum Stadium. Klopp has the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah as part of his squad list, with Joel Matip and Naby Keita also desperate to kick-start their respective campaigns with a strong showing over the next week.
How many will be inside the ground for the games themselves, however, remains something of a mystery. At the time of writing. tickets were still readily available for a venue that is only just over one quarter of Anfield's capacity and some supporters have complained over some fees that range between £75 and £90.
Unlike the traditional summer tours of the United States or the Far East, this mid-season training programme is not a commercial jaunt. Whereas Klopp begrudgingly accepts the off-field commitments that accompany tours of areas like North America or Thailand, the Dubai base is aimed more on working towards fixing some of the problems that have left Liverpool languishing in sixth in the Premier League.
Few off-the-pitch activities have been arranged and while the club usually dispatch a delegate of 'legends' to help with the gentle growth of the worldwide Liverpool brand and name, this mid-season trip is almost the antithesis.
Liverpool did hastily arrange a Q&A with assistant manager Pep Lijnders on Thursday, at least, while a meet-and-greet with the official supporters club of the area is also in the pipeline with a handful of first-team members next week.
With so many questions swirling around the club at present, though, it's no surprise they are not looking to add any fuel to the fires of ownership issues, transfer plans or just who might replace sporting director Julian Ward. It's understood the event with Lijnders was undertaken on the agreement no questions were asked about Jude Bellingham.
So much is still to be decided in the long term just now at Anfield but the most important one of all for Klopp will be ensuring that Liverpool's name is in the top four come what May. It all starts here in Dubai and like most other places here Sheikh Mohammed will likely be watching, somewhere.
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