As we reported earlier this week the terms of Rafa’s new contract put Rafa and the owners on a collision course, and today Benitez has rejected the offer of a new Liverpool contract.
The American owners yet again have cast an enormous shadow over Liverpool’s season by insisting that important managerial decisions, such as transfer targets are run by the club’s Chief Executive – the man only months ago Tom Hicks ordered to resign.
Benitez said to the Liverpool Echo
“My relationship with the owners is better than people think,” he insisted. “I have regular contact with them and especially with Tom Hicks who has always been very supportive.
“The talks between my agent and the advisers of the owners have been very positive and friendly and our differences are about my responsibilities.
“The owners feel that the manager’s decisions need to be subject to the chief executive but I know that I am subject to results and to our fans and they are the best judges I will ever have.
“I have a lot of experience in football at different clubs and if you do not have a technical director and you are the manager you have to have control of the football decisions. But always within the confines of a budget which is controlled by the owners and the club.
“In this scenario the manager knows the amount money he has available to him and can decide how much he should spend on each player according to the needs of the team.
“The only person who can decide the value of a player to his squad is the manager because he knows what elements are needed to improve the squad.”
“I believe the academy is a very important part of the future of the club. The length of the contract was already agreed and this showed my long term commitment to the club.“I know the academies of Ajax, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Valencia and they are producing players regularly.
“The way the system works there means the manager has an input into development and I think this could be the way forward here and we would hope that this would help us make better use of local talent.”
“I have to say again that this is not about financial gain. This is not a way to get more money,” he added.
“This is solely about being allowed to manage Liverpool Football Club to the best of my abilities as I see them.
“I believe that this club has the potential to improve and I just want to be able to help this to happen.
“I will continue to do my job as manager and concentrate on the thing that our fans want me to focus on – winning trophies for them.
“From the first day I came to the club I have only ever given 100% and I will continue to do this.
“We have a very important game coming up against Everton on Monday night and now I just want to be able to concentrate only on this.”
Not content with placing the club under enormous debt after promising not to.
Not content with failing to start work on a stadium that they said they would start ‘within 60 days’.
And now not content with once again failing to show sufficient respect to the man who should be in charge of all footballing decisions at Liverpool Football Club.
Rick Parry can’t even organise Liverpool’s ticketing policy properly – what makes the owners think he should have any say in which players Liverpool decide to chase.
HICKS and GILLETT – Get out of our club.
Shame Rafa doesn`t get what he wants. There is a war going on concerning how this club should be run. Rafa gambles now and he knows it. In the coming weeks he needs to keep deliver the right results to be in a position where he can dictate his contract terms. A few disappointing results and his hand is weakened. Regrettably it seems Rafa has created turbulence rather than harmony within his own camp. By starting a war of words with Ferguson + threatening to leave the club he has increased the pressure on his own players. They have to perform now for him to be in a position to strengthen his hand in the ongoing negotiations. All this locomotion surrounding Lfc is a pity. I`m a loyal fan of Rafa but it seems he has made a mess of things lately. Let`s hope for a derby win, which will ease the nerves. If only until the next game…
go home yanks and take parry with you guys and f**k off
Will Rafa ever win the league, starting matches with Lucas and leaving 40 million worth of strikers on the bench
I really can’t believe that the yanks don’t know how Rafa (and the club), would react to this stupid condition to his contract. They or their advisers must know what went on at Newcastle and they must know how we do things at Liverpool.
This is being done to cause trouble and upset people. It’s working on me.
What do a bunch of yanks know about footie anyway? Rafa has earned the right to make the decisions when it comes to the team but yet again w**k-balls are trying to squeeze in on the action. We are trying to win the league, now this is just another distraction which burns up extra energy and takes away from the real job at hand. If whiskey face wins the league again I am going to give up watching footie all together.
Absolutely gobsmacked,can’t we have some good news from these pr***s.Would’nt blame Rafa if he packed his bags and bolted.
It’s a shame again by the owners again more problems at the club I hope they sell in July. You destroy everything if Rafa goes, then the players will go.