Rafa Benitez is continuing to rub Liverpool's co-owners the wrong way by going public with their plans to open talks over a new contract.
Tom Hicks and George Gillett have seen their Anfield regime weakened by internal conflicts and the global credit crunch - but the tycoons have again found common ground in disapproval of Benitez, according to The Times.
Having finally been given encouragement last week to believe that Hicks and Gillett would agree to discuss a new deal, Reds manager Benitez confirmed in an interview with the Liverpool Echo that 'they gave me their word' and that he expected talks to start some time this week.
But the Americans were frustrated that the message was broadcast to the media so quickly, increasing their feeling that they are being forced into a corner by Benitez.
After an impressive start to the season, Benitez is in a sufficiently powerful position to have been able to force contract discussions on to the agenda.
Hicks had alluded to a one-year extension to Benitez’s existing £2.6 million-a-year deal, which expires in June 2010, but Gillett, having taken their fallouts more personally, had been opposed to the idea.
Preliminary discussions between chief executive Rick Parry and Benitez’s agent, Manuel Garcia Quilon, are due to take place in the coming days, but, with the parties likely to be far apart on the size and length of any contract, it may be that Liverpool are under new ownership by the time the matter is resolved.
Hicks and Gillett are looking to sell the club and there is a growing belief that they are ready to drop their asking price from £550 million to £500 million - closer to sums that have been offered by Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai, and another unidentified Arab consortium.
Hicks and Gillett remain hopeful that they will succeed in persuading Royal Bank of Scotland to grant a six-month extension to their £350 million refinancing loan, which expires on January 25, but there have not yet been any such guarantees.
Even if they are granted more time, Hicks and Gillett have little or no prospect of taking the club forward, having failed to raise the additional £350 million required for the construction of a new stadium.
Tom Hicks and George Gillett have seen their Anfield regime weakened by internal conflicts and the global credit crunch - but the tycoons have again found common ground in disapproval of Benitez, according to The Times.
Having finally been given encouragement last week to believe that Hicks and Gillett would agree to discuss a new deal, Reds manager Benitez confirmed in an interview with the Liverpool Echo that 'they gave me their word' and that he expected talks to start some time this week.
But the Americans were frustrated that the message was broadcast to the media so quickly, increasing their feeling that they are being forced into a corner by Benitez.
After an impressive start to the season, Benitez is in a sufficiently powerful position to have been able to force contract discussions on to the agenda.
Hicks had alluded to a one-year extension to Benitez’s existing £2.6 million-a-year deal, which expires in June 2010, but Gillett, having taken their fallouts more personally, had been opposed to the idea.
Preliminary discussions between chief executive Rick Parry and Benitez’s agent, Manuel Garcia Quilon, are due to take place in the coming days, but, with the parties likely to be far apart on the size and length of any contract, it may be that Liverpool are under new ownership by the time the matter is resolved.
Hicks and Gillett are looking to sell the club and there is a growing belief that they are ready to drop their asking price from £550 million to £500 million - closer to sums that have been offered by Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai, and another unidentified Arab consortium.
Hicks and Gillett remain hopeful that they will succeed in persuading Royal Bank of Scotland to grant a six-month extension to their £350 million refinancing loan, which expires on January 25, but there have not yet been any such guarantees.
Even if they are granted more time, Hicks and Gillett have little or no prospect of taking the club forward, having failed to raise the additional £350 million required for the construction of a new stadium.
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