RAFAEL BENITEZ has thrown his long-term future at Liverpool into doubt by rejecting a new contract offered by the club's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
The Liverpool manager has refused to back down over his wish for any new deal to include greater authority over the club's transfer policy.
At present that is the domain of the chief executive, Rick Parry, and the Americans are content with the existing structure and unwilling to bow to Benitez's demands.
The Spaniard responded yesterday morning by announcing that he has turned down their offer.
Benitez said: "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 of 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."
Earlier this week the Liverpool manager denied that he had a problem with Hicks and Gillett. His announcement yesterday illustrates that his problem lies with Parry.
Benitez claimed his agent had only received the contract document on Monday night. That was the latest draft in a series of contract offers, however, and once again did not include any increased authority for Benitez over transfers.
The Liverpool manager also wanted more influence over the club's youth academy.
Benitez said: "My relationship with the owners is better than people think. 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."
He added: "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."
The Liverpool manager is unhappy that, at present, he has to recommend who is bought and sold to Hicks, Gillett and Parry, who then decide the player's value, what the club can afford and divide the transfer budget accordingly.
Benitez had wanted to dispense with the existing chain of command and operate on his own terms, setting the valuation on players, providing the transfer budget allowed it.
The Spaniard's resolve was hardened by last summer's unsuccessful pursuit of Gareth Barry, the Aston Villa midfielder whom he envisaged as a replacement for Xabi Alonso. Benitez missed out on Barry's signature when Liverpool's owners refused to meet Villa's £18 million asking price.
Hicks and Gillett said that the Barry deal collapsed over the price and not because they lacked the necessary funds, having agreed a £20.3 million deal for Tottenham's Robbie Keane. Benitez felt his judgment had been undermined.
The manager's stance has a precedent in his reign at Valencia, where he sought greater control over transfers from the director of football, Jesus Garcia Pitarch, before leaving for Liverpool in 2004.
Personal terms and the length of the new deal at Anfield were agreed in early December. The contract would have given Benitez a significant increase on his current £3.5 million-a-year salary and tied him to Anfield until 2013.
Hicks and Gillett are united on the terms of the new deal and the offer is believed to be still on the table. Benitez has 18 months remaining on his existing contract.
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