Fernando Torres: If Benitez is too slow, I'll leave!
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Rafa Benitez: I want Fernando Torres cash - showdown talks key to future of Liverpool boss
Rafa Benitez will hold crunch talks with Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton today with his tenure as manager in the balance and the club reeling from Chelsea's bold move for Fernando Torres.
As Chelsea prepare to offer £70million for Liverpool's star striker, Benitez will meet Broughton in London and demand written assurances that all money raised from player sales can be used to sign new ones.
Hot shot: Chelsea and Manchester City are chasing Liverpool's Fernando Torres
Benitez believed he had been given such a guarantee when he signed his new contract last year, but monies from sales have since been used to service the club's debts.
Unfortunately, Broughton is unlikely to be able to give 50-year-old Benitez the promise he is seeking, due to the chairman's non-executive role and the club's delicate financial state. That will frustrate Benitez further and push him into a corner over his future, which is still very uncertain with Juventus waiting for him to decide if he is keen to move to Turin at the end of the season.
Privately, Chelsea are surprised that their discreet move for Torres has become public. Yet the rumbling confusion over Benitez's future has encouraged them to believe they can be successful in their battle with Manchester City for the 26-year-old rated the world's best striker.
The divide between Benitez and the club's hierarchy seems to be growing wider with every day and the stark realisation that the talismanic Torres could be sold has brought the club's dramatic slide into sharp focus.
Juventus are waiting patiently for an answer on their four-year contract offer for Benitez, but the Spaniard is believed to have reservations about taking on the challenge in Turin with the club in such a state of transition. However, the sale of Torres would leave Liverpool in a similar situation and most probably turn dwindling public support against the manager.
Show and tell: Rafa Benitez will hold crunch talks with Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton
If, as seems likely, Benitez does depart, the presence of Kop idol Kenny Dalglish as an intermin manager will at least appease fans as the club searches for a suitable replacement. However, the pressure will be on for them to make giant str ides quickly after such a disappointing season on all fronts.
The sale of the club is paramount to those changes, but the project Benitez began in 2004 seems no closer to completion. Although Liverpool have made plans to sign new players, the extent of that recruitment is difficult for them to predict.
The club have held preliminary talks with Real Madrid about Rafael van der Vaart and were linked with Real's Royston Drenthe and Guti yesterday, but any such moves are likely to be shelved until Benitez and Torres final ise their futures. Dutchman Drenthe has potential but Guti - although a free transfer - would be unlikely.
Fiorentina have expressed an interest in Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani, although his agent Franco Zavaglia said: 'I don't think there is anything concrete. It is still too early to tell if a deal is possible.
'First of all, the priority is to finish the season well. Then we will know what will be the future at Liverpool.'
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rafa should go bury his face already.. still dare to simi "showdown talks"
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How dare he...
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torres go
who can score? ngog?
without a scorer, what improvement?
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Originally posted by kopiosatu:
torres go
who can score? ngog?
without a scorer, what improvement?
i think Rafa is a mole placed in LFC to destroy it..sort of like CSJ is a mole placed in the opposition to destroy it
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ask rafael play striker himself lor
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Originally posted by the Bear:
i think Rafa is a mole placed in LFC to destroy it..sort of like CSJ is a mole placed in the opposition to destroy it
a 6yr destruction plan?
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Originally posted by kopiosatu:
a 6yr destruction plan?
CSJ took about the same time.. slowly worked his way up until he could backstab CST and wreck everything -
benitez should go buy forlan from atletico madrid. he played so well in the europa league against liverpool
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I get the feeling that Rafa is doing everything himself to get himself sacked. Playing hardball with the management and airing dirty laundry in public seems to be indicative of that.
After all, if Rafa gets sacked, he has to be given the golden handshake. If he were to resign, he may not get any compensation and may in fact have to pay a penalty for tearing up the contract prematurely.
Seriously, are his current statements indicative of a manager who really wants to stay out of a true sense of duty to the club?
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torres is good but is he injury prone?
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Originally posted by dragg:
torres is good but is he injury prone?
he's okay... he's just badly used by rafa
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Once again he behaving like a spoilt brat towards the end of the season by demanding cash from the management to buy players.
What he have done for the past three seasons are selling away useful players and buying expensive and useless players.
I am wondering what is going to get Ah Ben to realise that he dun have a eye for players.
If he cannot develop the players that he have bought, there is no point in giving him more cash.
He have been crying wolf about going away and it is time for him to go away for real.
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he signed a lot of 'unknown' players.
on top of that he is not good at uncovering gems.
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Originally posted by sunnyfhz:
benitez should go buy forlan from atletico madrid. he played so well in the europa league against liverpool
the key, forlan only good AGAINST pool..how?
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Originally posted by dragg:
he signed a lot of 'unknown' players.
on top of that he is not good at uncovering gems.
well, for this, he will whine that he got no money mah. If he got, he can spend on established players like the entire spanish team, and surely, he will break the drought..
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Originally posted by dragg:
he signed a lot of 'unknown' players.
on top of that he is not good at uncovering gems.
but he's good at covering gems... until too latecase in point: xabi alonso
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Fernando Torres: If Rafa Benitez is too slow, I'll leave Liverpool (for £70million)
Fernando Torres was anxiously awaiting news of Rafa Benitez’s meeting with
Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton last night after deciding he wants his uncertain Anfield future resolved in the next week.Liverpool’s record £21million signing is in demand after it became clear Anfield bosses may have to cash in on him, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona all waiting for any encouragement to open a bidding war that could send the fee soaring to £70m.
While Benitez presented his argument to Broughton over why any proceeds should go towards strengthening his squad, rather than servicing the club’s debt, Torres was agonising over his next move.
Deadline set: Torres (left) wants no distraction as he gets ready for the World Cup
Alarmed at the way Liverpool’s campaign has petered out and left them lagging behind their main rivals, he wants answers on whether Benitez is staying and evidence of a strategy to guard against any repeat of this season’s failings.
Eager to avoid any unwanted distractions ahead of next month’s World Cup, he has made it clear he needs to know Liverpool’s intentions before he leaves Merseyside next week, in readiness for linking up with the Spain squad. He may be prepared to tolerate one more season without Champions League football but is ready to move on, should Liverpool deem a £70m offer too good to turn down.
Chelsea remain keen, as revealed in Sportsmail earlier this week, though City’s hopes appear to have been dashed by the 1-0 defeat by Tottenham.
Liverpool issued a statement last night that appeared to cast further doubt on the prospects of Benitez leaving to take over at Juventus. It claimed the talks, attended by managing director Christian Purslow as well as Broughton and Benitez, had been ‘constructive’ but added it was only the first of a series of planned meetings.
The great pretender: Where will Benitez be next season?
With Juventus wanting an answer from the Liverpool boss by the start of next week, they may finally abandon their pursuit of him and turn to alternative targets, such as Fiorentina’s Cesare Prandelli.
Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, explained why he was happy to shelve negotiations over his future until the start of next season, even though, by then, he will have less than a year to run on his contract.
The 32-year-old defender said: ‘I understand that, at my age, you can only make decisions season on season.’
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Funny at how these few Liverpool players' reaction.
When Liverpool is doing well, they claimed that they have a very good manager and will stick by him.
When Liverpool is doing badly, the same players jump out and shoot the manager.
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Every man for himself.
That is the rule for survival.
A soccer career is short.
If Torres and Gerard stay around for the next season, they dun have any years to win more medals and earn more money.
That is the reality about things.
Things will be worse for Liverpool next season with the debts and interest increases.
So, it will be a real test for the next manager.
I dun expect Ah Ben to stay around as he already used up all his excuses and there are no funds for him to buy new players.
Liverpool will be a mid table team for the next few seasons if the money dun come in.
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Rafa should leave and join Juventus. He has outstayed his welcome at anfield. just join Juventus and start afresh there and proof you can win trophies there. he has already won in La Liga with Valencia, with the title and UEFA cup and liverpool, albeit a CL and FA cup, but at least he won something even if he didnt win the league title in england.
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When Gillett and Hicks announced their plan to sell LFC a few weeks ago , I knew then the club is in deep shit, at that time with Torres injured plus 3 clubs were ahead of them for the UCL, the owner started the plan to jump ship.
With such high debt and the squad basically down to bare bone, LFC for next few years will be stagnet at mid table at best if they can still handle the high interest, otherwise she might even go into administration like Pompey.
The only hope is that some billioniare will buy the club & start pumping a few hundred millions into the club for a quick revival.