Rafael Benítez on the brink of leaving Liverpool over Anfield rift

[StevieH]

Liverpool transfer news: Rafa Benitez is furious after being told there is no money to spend this summer - MirrorFootball.co.uk

 

Rafa Benitez has revealed his anger and frustration after being told by his Anfield board there will be no money to spend in the summer.

 

Privately, the Liverpool boss is fuming after a secret meeting last week with MD Christian Purslow, where the Spaniard failed to get assurances he would be given the backing to rebuild his struggling squad.

American owner Tom Hicks had indicated earlier in the week that there would be money to spend in the transfer window, insisting that "there will be significant investment this summer."

 

Yet Benitez has told the people closest to him that the meeting was 'unproductive', and he expressed his extreme dissatisfaction at the board's lack of backing for his plans to radically overhaul his squad.

 

The Anfield manager wants money to invest in new players, and he is also looking for assurances that any money he raises through sales will be ploughed straight back into the playing squad.

 

Benitez is ready to offload several first team squad players like Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel and Albert Riera to raise funds, and he also has a plan in place should he lose any top stars like Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard or Javier Mascherano.

 

Privately, he has indicated he feels Torres may leave this summer, and he knows there is also a real chance that Gerrard too will depart, should the managerial position at the club remain unchanged.

 

If that happens, then Benitez wants the backing to bring in several top line players, but he got no such assurances last week, and his widely revealed anger suggests his future on Merseyside remains in doubt.

 

Sources close to Benitez made no secret of the manager's frustration after the talks last week, and there is little doubt the Spaniard will not be happy at what he sees as being forced to operate with his hands tied behind his back.

 

In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, the Liverpool boss insisted that he wanted to stay with the English club IF the situation allowed, but he believes the situation must include serious money to spend this summer.

 

Rafa Benitez: I'll stay at Liverpool... if they want me - Exclusive

 

His problem though, is that there are few escape routes available to him. After talking to Juventus for six months, the Italian side instead chose a home-grown manager, and Real Madrid - another club he has constantly been linked with - have just appointed Jose Mourinho.

 

Benitez IS on a short-list to replace Mourinho at Inter Milan, and he HAS had contact from the Italians, with rumours spreading in Italy that he held informal talks in the country last week.

 

But the Liverpool boss knows that following Mourinho is a thankless, some would say impossible task, especially given the animosity between the pair.

 

The former Chelsea manager delights in any opportunity to point out Benitez's failings at the best of times, and only recently insisted that Liverpool have gone backwards since 2004...cuttingly the year Benitez took over at Anfield.

 

It means there is no obvious escape route for the Reds manager, but he is clearly on a collision course with the Anfield board, after making clear his anger following the meeting with Purslow last week.

 

Benitez looks likely to claim a small victory way in the coming weeks though, after Liverpool moved closer to selling Benayoun to Chelsea for a fee of around £6million.

 

The transfer could be completed within the next week, with Benitez keen to get rid of the Israeli international after falling out with him, and dropping the winger from his squad for the final game of last season.

[Dan Vito Corleone]

On and on and on.........

[George Costanza]

On and on and on.........

 

exactly.

 

and the 'two' camps continue their political struggle since Cecil told a couple of journo's recently there was money + sales to spend this summer.

 

Quite simply the club can't look forward till they are all gone.

[Juan Galonso]

Has anybody been told ''You're not wanted'' in such an emphatic way without taking heed ever?

 

I hope the club pull the plug on the Yossi deal if Benitez is leaving. Unless Yossi is desperate to leave no matter who the manager is which I would be surprised if that was the case.

 

There probably will be money there.....Just not for Rafa though.

[StevieH]

Has anybody been told ''You're not wanted'' in such an emphatic way without taking heed ever?

 

Yes about 5 years ago. Her name was Carly. Took me a long time to get over her.

[King Emlyn]

Has anybody been told ''You're not wanted'' in such an emphatic way without taking heed ever?

 

I hope the club pull the plug on the Yossi deal if Benitez is leaving. Unless Yossi is desperate to leave no matter who the manager is which I would be surprised if that was the case.

 

There probably will be money there.....Just not for Rafa though.

Aye, problem is John he holds all the aces, the club simply cannot afford to sack him; he knows it, they know it, everybody knows it.

[RedKnight]

Most boring exit strategy ever.

[Chinandeler Bong]

They know they cant afford to sack him. But they can withhold funds from sales from him. What will he do then ?

[Juan Galonso]

Aye, problem is John he holds all the aces, the club simply cannot afford to sack him; he knows it, they know it, everybody knows it.

 

Does he though Paul? He wants to be sacked, we want to sack him. All these jobs which he would covet keep disappearing. Milan, Madrid, Juventus etc. There will probably be a compromise reached if we are going to part company with him.

 

Are these clubs actively staying away from him because they find him high maintenance maybe?

[Torvald Utne]

or maybe they realise that he's not trying to get sacked (ridiculous assertion), is infact a decent manager and are willing to give him another season?

[StevieH]

We're Inter you, Roy! Inter Milan eyeing move for Fulham boss Hodgson | Mail Online

 

We're Inter you, Roy! Inter Milan eyeing move for Fulham boss Hodgson

 

By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 11:22 PM on 1st June 2010

 

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has started to make plans for a rejection from Fabio Capello by moving to discuss his managerial vacancy with Roy Hodgson.

 

The Fulham manager is a close friend of Moratti’s, but he is also emerging as a serious candidate to replace Jose Mourinho.

It would be his third spell as Inter manager but Moratti is also understood to be considering Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez for the task of stepping into Champions League winning Mourinho’s dug-out.

 

Hodgson’s stock has soared since he took over at Fulham three years ago, transforming them from relegation favourites into Europa League finalists.

 

He had previously taken Inter to the final of the UEFA Cup in 1997, losing in a penalty shootout against Schalke.

 

Recommend Rafa to Inter Roy and the Liverpool job is all yours!!

[RedKnight]

That will literally not happen. I didn't even need the word 'literally' in that statement but I threw it in anyway.

[JohnnyH]

Jesus. The shite that passes for fact these days.

[Juan Galonso]

Jesus. The shite that passes for fact these days.

 

Care to elaborate Johnny?

[liver bird]

Has anybody been told ''You're not wanted'' in such an emphatic way without taking heed ever?

 

I hope the club pull the plug on the Yossi deal if Benitez is leaving. Unless Yossi is desperate to leave no matter who the manager is which I would be surprised if that was the case.

 

There probably will be money there.....Just not for Rafa though.

 

hahahahaha thats a joke right?

[Jose Jones]

exactly.

 

and the 'two' camps continue their political struggle since Cecil told a couple of journo's recently there was money + sales to spend this summer.

 

Quite simply the club can't look forward till they are all gone.

 

Aye, it seems the current board plan is “tell the press we’ve got money to spend, then tell Rafa he hasn’t got any. Hope he gets pissed off enough to leave, as a bit of a bonus con a few fans into thinking that if Rafa goes we’ll have a bit of money to spend, so might create more of a groundswell of opinion against Rafa and make it more likely he’ll quit. In the miraculous chance this cunning plan works, appoint someone new and give them no money to spend, because we haven’t actually got any money”.

Happy days.

[JohnnyH]

Care to elaborate Johnny?

 

The comment that Rafa wants to get sacked for the pay off. I spoke with our Director of Personnel and he laughed at the idea of a top Exec (as Rafa is) getting his contract paid up fully and said that if he gets a job in the next 12 months then he will get a max of 1 years salary, and even if he doesn’t he wouldn’t get even half of the quoted £16m as there are the mitigated circumstances of lack of achievement, posturing towards another job, available revenue at the existing employer, and a whole bunch of other shite I could barely understand. But this is never referred to as it doesn’t paint anywhere near a nasty enough picture of our horrible manager. One or two journos have mentioned, but the rest haven’t as it doesn’t make good copy. Rafa would also get most of any pay off back in a signing on fee with any new club so it’s all redundant anyway.

 

It is treated as fact that he wants to get sacked, yet there is no possible way anyone could know this. The fact Rafa is still here is treated as him being greedy and wanting the pay off, whereas the idea that he just likes it here (as possibly does his family) and wants to stay is not even considered.

 

Every single website has become pure tabloid journalistic shite. There is far too much reaching, drama, conjecture, nonsense, and searching for the wildest reasoning at the moment and, for me, it’s just tiresome. Just my opinion like, but people seem to be searching for the wildest conclusion for what is usually a fairly standard situation.

[Monster Masch]

The comment that Rafa wants to get sacked for the pay off. I spoke with our Director of Personnel and he laughed at the idea of a top Exec (as Rafa is) getting his contract paid up fully and said that if he gets a job in the next 12 months then he will get a max of 1 years salary, and even if he doesn’t he wouldn’t get even half of the quoted £16m as there are the mitigated circumstances of lack of achievement, posturing towards another job, available revenue at the existing employer, and a whole bunch of other shite I could barely understand. But this is never referred to as it doesn’t paint anywhere near a nasty enough picture of our horrible manager. One or two journos have mentioned, but the rest haven’t as it doesn’t make good copy. Rafa would also get most of any pay off back in a signing on fee with any new club so it’s all redundant anyway.

 

It is treated as fact that he wants to get sacked, yet there is no possible way anyone could know this. The fact Rafa is still here is treated as him being greedy and wanting the pay off, whereas the idea that he just likes it here (as possibly does his family) and wants to stay is not even considered.

 

Every single website has become pure tabloid journalistic shite. There is far too much reaching, drama, conjecture, nonsense, and searching for the wildest reasoning at the moment and, for me, it’s just tiresome. Just my opinion like, but people seem to be searching for the wildest conclusion for what is usually a fairly standard situation.

 

 

Care to simplify Johnny?

[Juan Galonso]

hahahahaha thats a joke right?

 

No there will be money. Not a lot but it is clear as night follows day that they don't want the current manager to have it.

 

And Johnny why hasn't he quit then if what you are saying is correct and he is being so undermined then?

[JohnnyH]

John. He hasn't quite for the very simple reason that he wants to stay.

[Jose Jones]

No there will be money. Not a lot but it is clear as night follows day that they don't want the current manager to have it.

 

And Johnny why hasn't he quit then if what you are saying is correct and he is being so undermined then?

 

Because he wants to stay?

Likes the club, remembers the good times, family settled in the area?

Is a stubborn bastard who doesn’t want to give in to the owners/board?

Thinks the current ownership is likely to change soon so is hoping to cling on in the hope that we might be run by someone with good intentions?

Still thinks he can win stuff?

[Juan Galonso]

John. He hasn't quite for the very simple reason that he wants to stay.

 

Brilliant, I get took to task by you for saying he wants to be sacked so it is only fair I do the same for you saying that you are convinced that good old loveable Rafa he wants to stay.

 

If you are right and he did want to stay then it will be all on his own terms which after last seasons shambles he really isn't in a position to dictate him staying under certain conditions to anybody right? He got the contract so slanted in his favour in the first place which all went tits up. Once bitten etc.

[Jose Jones]

Brilliant, I get took to task by you for saying he wants to be sacked so it is only fair I do the same for you saying that you are convinced that good old loveable Rafa he wants to stay.

 

If you are right and he did want to stay then it will be all on his own terms which after last seasons shambles he really isn't in a position to dictate him staying under certain conditions to anybody right? He got the contract so slanted in his favour in the first place which all went tits up. Once bitten etc.

 

All depends on your point of view on how the facts play out.

You think Rafa is a greedy bastard.

Johnny thinks Rafa at heart is probably a decent man.

 

The fact that he puts up with all the shit, the politicking, the lack of money (last two years) you see as "he'd only put up with all that because he's a greedy bastard who doesn't want to jeopardise his salary or pay off".

Johnny sees it as "he only puts up with that because he doesn't want to leave, he could easily resign and get another decent job within a year or so".

[JohnnyH]

Brilliant, I get took to task by you for saying he wants to be sacked so it is only fair I do the same for you saying that you are convinced that good old loveable Rafa he wants to stay.

 

If you are right and he did want to stay then it will be all on his own terms which after last seasons shambles he really isn't in a position to dictate him staying under certain conditions to anybody right? He got the contract so slanted in his favour in the first place which all went tits up. Once bitten etc.

 

Yes John, you did get taken to task because it is treated as fact that Rafa is a greedy bastard just trying to wrangle a way to get sacked and earn a shed load of cash. There is nothing whatsoever to suggest this as even if Rafa did decide on this, there is no way on earth that he would tell anyone so it's all conjecture just used, as per usual, to try and paint the manager as the worst human to ever set foot in the club. And yes, the contract is, as far as we are all guessing because no one actually knows, slanted in his favour in that he has one and if he wants to stay, then that is a bit of a tie. He is a very very rich man as it is, and will get a nice big sign on fee from whatever club takes him should he leave us, so the money thing, in my opinion, is used far too much as a stick to beat an already very wealthy man who will get a wedge regardless of what happens.

 

I think Rafa probably lacks a personality, and is a bit dull, and may be a bit of a bolox to work for; but to go from there, to him being a total cunt trying to get sacked to get a bit more money then what he'd get anyway at his new club, all seems a bit tiresome James Bond villian.

Edited June 1, 2010 by JohnnyH

[Byrnie]

You know what, I read this thread I read the FF from time to time and I read the wank from people who should know better.

 

We all stand and sing "we are not English we are Scouse" and we mean it, we laugh at the bitters when they sing "We don't care what the Red Shite say" when they obviously do and yet I read supposed Liverpool fans criticising Benitez for speaking out, not only against the owners who are tearing the club to pieces but for taking on National 'Institutions' like Ferguson, Allardyce et all whom none of us would piss on if they were on fire on the basis that they don't like 'how it looks' and what will other people think...well who fucking cares how it looks and since when have we cared?

 

All Benitez has done is have a shit season and lets face it, there have been mitigating circumstances, one of which is that he bought Johnson and Aquilani first, two positions that needed replacements after Alonso and Arbeloa left, and then had the rug pulled from under his feet when he went after the forward we needed. That isn't his fault.

 

Granted the football has been turgid, but having Johnson, Aquilani, Gerrard and Torres out for good parts of the season mitigates that.

 

Granted, it was Benitez decision to pitch his tent up on One Tree Hill as far as the press and the rest of the league goes, but do you really want him to be a Harry Redknapp clone? A dodgy, saggy faced Bloodhound who courts the press and cosies up to them? You can't set yourselves apart by singing "we're no English we are Scouse" and then grizzle about what others think of us.

 

Rafa is still our Man, and until such times as he isn't stop behaving like spoilt fucking blerts and realise that the vagaries of life dictate that there are ups and downs. At the start of each season there are only 4 trophies we can win, one of which nobody gives a fuck about. Our record in Europe since he has been here is non~pareil, one bad season out of 6 in the league, the first one doesn't count as he inherited a right shower of shit from the last manager and lets face it, when you shop for the most part in the Riera market, you get Rieras.

 

Now stop grizzling you bunch of fucks and give him time to turn it round, he has earned that right at the very least.

 

While you are still here Rafa, you are still our man and quite frankly I couldn't give a fuck what anyone in the London press or what any cunt who appears on the Sunday Supplement thinks. Fuck them, fuck them right in the arse.

 

Politically he has taken on all comers and for the most part he has beaten them and I still like the stubborn bastard.

 

Rafa, this is for you.

 

[YOUTUBE]wvZSdCTcS-A[/YOUTUBE]

Brilliant post, best I've read on here.