Jen Chang has left his post as director of communications at Liverpool by “mutual consent”, the club have confirmed.

Chang, only appointed in May, was recently involved in a controversy with Sean Cummins, a Liverpool fan behind the parody Duncan Jenkins Twitter account that purported to have inside knowledge of the club. During a meeting, it was alleged that Chang made threats to Cummins.

Chang denied the allegations but it still caused Ian Ayre, the club’s chief executive, to apologise last month.

Liverpool did not directly link Chang’s departure to that incident but a spokesman said he had returned to the US, where he previously worked for Sports Illustrated, “for family reasons”.