Rafa Benitez is still pressing Liverpool's owners to approve his planned £18m purchase of Gareth Barry despite the insistence of George Gillett and Tom Hicks that the midfielder is overpriced.
Having sparked a public spat between Martin O'Neill and Benitez, the interminable saga has now taken a new direction to reveal precarious tensions within Anfield. Having specifically blamed Rick Parry for failing to secure Barry's signing in his press conference on Friday, Benitez has since bypassed the chief executive to plead directly with Gillett and Hicks to sanction the deal.
"I have the support of at least one of the owners. I sent e-mails to all of them, but he was clear we had the money," said Benitez on Saturday. "If the manager has an idea, and it is not a question of money, we have to make the right decision in terms of who we bring in. That has to be the decision of the manager."
The claim that one of the owners supports Benitez's attempts to sign Barry is likely to have been met with scepticism by Parry. It seems inconceivable that, having previously rebuffed Hicks' call for him to resign, Parry would have published a statement declaring that Liverpool's owners felt Barry's fee was "too high" unless it had been ratified by both Americans.
Nonetheless, Benitez is refusing to give up on signing Barry. As well as continuing to plead with Hicks and Gillett, Benitez is prepared to sell Xabi Alonso, as well as Jermaine Pennant and Andriy Voronin, in order to finance the purchase of the Aston Villa captain.
However, according to The Guardian, Liverpool are yet to receive a single firm offer for any of those players and 'even with success on that front, Benitez will need Hicks and Gillett to sign off an £18m deal that neither believes represents good value for the 27-year-old Villa captain. Without a U-turn from the Americans, and they are wary of another public spat with the popular Spaniard, or Villa reducing their valuation on a player who is now cup-tied for Europe until February, the damaging impasse will continue at Anfield'.
Your Comments
scott_boy
"I feel sorry for those who doubt Alonso's ability, on his day he's still one of the best passers in Europe, while i agree he was terrible last season, you only have to look at how he changed the game at Sunderland on Saturday to realise that he still is a good player."
Dennis8
"But everyone raved about him in his first two seasons? Now he's as s**t as Morientes and he's behind Lucas in the ranks??? He looks like my 7 year old next door neighbour, and she's better at football than him! Barry is the simplest footballer in the world, might as well raid United for Fletcher if you want Gareth to win you the league, because that won't happen mate. Ever. "
Lfcme
"Dennis my point is that we need another type of player, not one who never gets in the box and plays his passes sideways everytime. Alonso cannot be compared to pirlo or gattuso. Or even Mascherano. They fight like men and get involved in games, Xabi pulls disappearing acts that would shock houdini. I think he like Morientes is just not suited to this league . He needs a lot of time on the ball unlike Barry to make an impact or he becomes anonymous"
pommie69er
"Liverpool are slowly becoming a laughing stock in Manchester, Chelsea, Arsenal and all other top clubs across Europe because the Pool board are all arguing and falling out over some mid-table player called Gareth Barry. Real Madrid, Inter Milan and the rest of them must be asking themselves who the hell he is as they have never heard of this £18m player that The Great Liverpool are desperate to buy. How come the Marca haven't had a report linking them to Real yet...???"
Tozz
"Back off Hols and still no backing for Barry from his board. Maybe Rafa and Gerrard ( chairman elect) should set up their own team FC Liverpool like the another team in red and disapear down a big hole and never to return"
KyleValentine
"so so so overpriced"
dellie
"Let it go Benitez, your board won't back you. That says it all......another season of winning nothing awaits you. "
haines17
"I sincerely expect liverpool now to pay the £18m for Barry, there american owners and the waiter have made a tragic comedy out of a once shining light team in liverpool. in exactly that same vein now i expect them to sign him for £18m as it now makes no sense lol."
Colly22
"Can Liverpool fans answer if they really think that with the addition of barry they will lift the prem leauge? I beleive rafa is trying his best to build a squad strong enough to challenge for thr leauge but I also beleive the current bunch including Barry is not good enough!And by him coming out and saying he has no backing regarding cash is his excuse to the fans. Its not your year again face it! Chelsea I think will do it on all fronts, this is coming from a United man! "
Dennis8
"LFCMe, your a dufus. Alonso doesn't score many goals because he's a defensive midfielder. Like Pirlo, Gattuso, Vieira etc, they're not famed for being goal machines but are still cracking players. Would you perhaps like to drop Carragher too because he didn't score as many goals as Joleon Lescott last season? Stop being an idiot mate. And the wholeshow, in which of Benitez's seasons has he spent 50 million?? I think you should probably look at their annual spend on transfer funds before you start chatting absolute bollocks. Liverpool won't win the league because Chelsea and Man United are far better. United even beat Liverpool last season playing John O'Dear and Dazzling Darren Fletcher, and them boys are terrible! I'm glad Benitez has admitted Liverpool aren't good enough, because they aren't. Any ballbag who thinks they are is deluded. Deluded and stupid"
All comments on this story