From The Times April 8, 2010
Liverpool need cash to compete, says Rafael Benitez
Tony Barrett
Rafael BenÃtez believes that he has taken Liverpool as far as he can unless the club’s long-running search for investment bears fruit. The Liverpool manager, laying bare his frustration at seeing the Rhône Group’s deadline for the club to accept its offer lapse on Monday, said that it had caused his optimism to turn to fears of stagnation.
Club officials insist that Rhône’s offer — £100 million for a 40 per cent stake, with the cash being used to reduce the club’s £237 million debt at the behest of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the creditor — has not been withdrawn. However, it is understood that Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the Liverpool owners, were not enticed by a bid that would have left them as minority shareholders.
With no other offer on the table, BenÃtez has made it clear that Liverpool’s malaise could become entrenched if investment is not forthcoming, supporting the view of Fernando Torres, the forward, that cash must be found.
“Some players have been talking about what we need for the future and I agree with them,†BenÃtez said. “They are working very hard, you cannot expect more from them and I agree that if we want to take the step forward that we need to take, we will need money to compete with the top sides.
“I agree with Fernando on a lot of things. That it is a pity that after finishing with 86 points last year we couldn’t progress. I agree with him that we need to sign some players. We need to invest and then we can challenge in a better way. While we don’t have the investor, it will be difficult to go one step forward. We balanced the books this year and now we need to go forward on the pitch.
“For six months I was really optimistic, especially about the Rhône Group, because they were one of the groups who were there. But they are not there now. For months I have been waiting for new investors and trying to focus on football and I will try to do the same thing now because that is best for the team and the club.â€
Last summer, BenÃtez spent about £36 million on Alberto Aquilani, Glen Johnson and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, but his outlay was at least matched by the income from sales, the most significant of which were Xabi Alonso and Ãlvaro Arbeloa to Real Madridand others.
Furthermore, while Liverpool received a substantial downpayment for Alonso they paid only an initial £5 million on Aquilani with the remaining £12 million to follow in instalments, while Johnson’s £17 million fee was offset by the £10 million owed to the Anfield club by Portsmouth for the transfer of Peter Crouch in July 2008 and loan of Jermaine Pennant six months later.
Their spending power in the transfer market was restricted by the £30 million in interest they paid to the RBS as a result of the debts built up by Hicks and Gillett. The Americans have held talks with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the City lawyers, as they continue their attempts to refinance those debts.
Liverpool will attempt to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit at Anfield as they aim to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League at Benfica’s expense tonight, but it is their problems off the pitch that dominate the agenda.
Europe was captivated by Barcelona’s performance against Arsenal on Tuesday and BenÃtez’s thoughts were dominated by the Catalan club’s superiority to his team. “Barcelona are a massive club with a massive stadium,†BenÃtez said. “They can spend big money in the transfer window and they have a lot of players coming from the system.
“That is the way to do things if you want to compete at the maximum level. We have to be positive and think that the investors will come. All I can do is focus on [tonight’s] game. I am not happy with the situation but I will try to do my best.â€
BenÃtez’s outburst also appears to have been provoked by the outcry that followed his decision to replace Torres with David Ngog in Liverpool’s 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw with Birmingham City on Sunday. “Every manager makes mistakes,†BenÃtez said. “But you can see the difference — at some clubs you can make two or three mistakes of £15-20 million every year and nothinghappens; here, because of the situation, you can make a substitution and we can be talking for one week about the end of the world.â€
