Everton’s 1892 rent dispute led to the founding of Liverpool FC
In 1892 Everton refused to pay higher rent and left Anfield after a dispute with stadium owner John Houlding, who then founded Liverpool Football Club to keep the ground occupied.
The Merseyside derby rivalry began with a bitter rent dispute, not on the pitch.
More than 130 years later, that landlord dispute has become the unlikely origin story of English football’s fiercest rivalries.


