Rafael Benitez has dismissed the financial implications should Liverpool fail to progress from the Champions League group stage – and believes he is not under any extra pressure from the club’s American owners.
Anything but victory at home to Besiktas this evening would leave the Anfield outfit facing an early exit from the competition and missing out on a minimum of £14million in revenue.
However, Benitez reveals the club’s financial situation was not on the agenda during a meeting with Tom Hicks and George Gillett last week.
And the Liverpool manager is confident the Americans share his long-term view at Anfield of putting on-field success ahead of off-field gains.
“When you talk about a £400m stadium and the amount you get for reaching the final, then an extra £10m or so is not a big difference,” said Benitez. “What is important is that we progress in this competition. Football is the most important thing. We want to win because we want to win trophies, not because we want to save the financial situation. Of course, the owners want the money but is there a big difference between £400m and £410m?
“Every penny is important, but I don’t think the Champions League will make a big difference. We want to win and we want to progress, but it would be a big mistake to think about it only in terms of money.”
Benitez added: “I don’t know if not qualifying will make a difference to my transfer budget. I was reading some papers at the weekend that said I had no money, £20m and £25m.
“We didn’t talk about how much I’ve got to spend when I met Tom and George last week. We talked about the situation with the team, their plans for the future, the stadium, everything.
“I don’t feel there is any extra pressure on me after the meeting. When I spoke to them about my plan they were really pleased with it. Now we just have to keep doing the right things and the plan will be successful.
“Everything is good. They have been supportive from the first time I met them. They are nice people.”
Benitez believes that time rather than money is now the key factor to turning Liverpool into a team capable of regularly challenging for honours both home and abroad. The Spaniard said: “For a manager, when you are progressing and changing things, it cannot be done in one minute. You need time, but it is the same for all managers. I think we are improving and going in the right direction.
“The money is not the most important thing because of the position of the squad. The squad is strong. We need to improve two or three things but I am happy with the squad. We have better players now, the value of the players is much higher than before, so we are in a much better position.
“What are the two or three things? The owners know but now is not the moment to talk about them in public.”
Benitez has called for passion and cool heads from his players this evening, with Liverpool hoping to continue their record of having never lost at home to Turkish opposition.
“Win or lose I try to stay calm,” he said. “I can be disappointed, but I try to stay calm. If we cannot win I am the first one to analyse why and think about what we have to do, so I don’t need too many people telling me. I am always analysing and trying to improve with my staff.”
Anything but victory at home to Besiktas this evening would leave the Anfield outfit facing an early exit from the competition and missing out on a minimum of £14million in revenue.
However, Benitez reveals the club’s financial situation was not on the agenda during a meeting with Tom Hicks and George Gillett last week.
And the Liverpool manager is confident the Americans share his long-term view at Anfield of putting on-field success ahead of off-field gains.
“When you talk about a £400m stadium and the amount you get for reaching the final, then an extra £10m or so is not a big difference,” said Benitez. “What is important is that we progress in this competition. Football is the most important thing. We want to win because we want to win trophies, not because we want to save the financial situation. Of course, the owners want the money but is there a big difference between £400m and £410m?
“Every penny is important, but I don’t think the Champions League will make a big difference. We want to win and we want to progress, but it would be a big mistake to think about it only in terms of money.”
Benitez added: “I don’t know if not qualifying will make a difference to my transfer budget. I was reading some papers at the weekend that said I had no money, £20m and £25m.
“We didn’t talk about how much I’ve got to spend when I met Tom and George last week. We talked about the situation with the team, their plans for the future, the stadium, everything.
“I don’t feel there is any extra pressure on me after the meeting. When I spoke to them about my plan they were really pleased with it. Now we just have to keep doing the right things and the plan will be successful.
“Everything is good. They have been supportive from the first time I met them. They are nice people.”
Benitez believes that time rather than money is now the key factor to turning Liverpool into a team capable of regularly challenging for honours both home and abroad. The Spaniard said: “For a manager, when you are progressing and changing things, it cannot be done in one minute. You need time, but it is the same for all managers. I think we are improving and going in the right direction.
“The money is not the most important thing because of the position of the squad. The squad is strong. We need to improve two or three things but I am happy with the squad. We have better players now, the value of the players is much higher than before, so we are in a much better position.
“What are the two or three things? The owners know but now is not the moment to talk about them in public.”
Benitez has called for passion and cool heads from his players this evening, with Liverpool hoping to continue their record of having never lost at home to Turkish opposition.
“Win or lose I try to stay calm,” he said. “I can be disappointed, but I try to stay calm. If we cannot win I am the first one to analyse why and think about what we have to do, so I don’t need too many people telling me. I am always analysing and trying to improve with my staff.”
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