A picture of the FBI's new director wearing a Liverpool tie has gone viral on social media in recent days. A photo of Kash Patel donning a red and white striped tie which features the liver bird symbol took X users by surprise when it was circulated earlier this week.

The photo in question was taken in December as Patel, who was confirmed as the FBI's new leader earlier this year, attended a meeting in Washington in the weeks leading up Donald Trump's inauguration as president.

Liverpool fans' reaction to finding out Patel is a Reds fan was mixed, as is usually the case on social media, with many supporters less than impressed at the discovery due to Patel's politics.

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Patel's values are not at all in line with the club's and the city's socialist values, and the fact he is a staunch Donald Trump supporter will not earn him brownie points with many of Liverpool's fans.

Who is Kash Patel?

Patel is a former defence department chief of staff and ex-federal prosecutor, and was a vocal critic of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) prior to being tasked with leading the organization.

He was narrowly voted into his new position as director of the FBI, which is the US government's top law enforcement agency, in a party line vote of 51-49, with only two Republicans joining all Democrats against him.

Patel previously proposed significantly restricting the FBI's power, an idea supported by Republicans who argued the agency had unfairly targeted conservatives in recent years, which is an allegation that was denied by Patel's predecessor Christopher Wray.

Patel has not publicly spoken about his affiliation with Liverpool, but it is fairly safe to assume that him wearing a club tie is an indication that he is a follower of the club.

Patel has only been in his new role for a few weeks but has already had disagreements with Elon Musk, effectively overruling the world's richest man after the Tesla founder had ordered thousands of federal workers to list their achievements over the previous week or be removed from their position.

Musk was linked with a possible Liverpool takeover bird earlier this year when his father, Errol Musk, said his son was interested in buying the Reds.

Errol appeared on Times Radio at the beginning of January, when he was directly asked the question: “Does your son want to buy Liverpool Football Club?”

Musk responded: “I can't comment on that, they'll raise the price! Oh yes, [he has expressed a desire], but that doesn't mean he's buying it. He would like to yes, obviously. Anybody would want to — so would I! His grandmother was born in Liverpool, and we have relatives in Liverpool and we were fortunate to know quite a lot of the Beatles because they grew up with some of my family. So, we are attached to Liverpool you know."