Rafa Benitez has risked angering Liverpool’s American owners again by accusing them of dragging their heels over defender Daniel Agger’s Anfield future.
Ahead of Monday’s Merseyside derby, Benitez — already at odds with Tom Hicks and George Gillett over his own contract — hit out over the growing threat of losing Agger to AC Milan by insisting: ‘The club have been too slow dealing with this and the player does not know where he stands.’
Agger’s agent Per Steffensen tried to play down the significance of meeting Milan sporting director Ariedo Braida in a city centre restaurant last week but admitted there had been no contact from Liverpool since the beginning of November.
The Denmark defender’s current deal runs out at the end of next season, and a summer move to the San Siro looks increasingly likely after Benitez poured out his frustration over the deadlock.
‘The club have been slow dealing with Agger,’ he said.
‘His situation is in the papers all the time now because we were not quick enough.
'I was talking with him and his agent, and it is clear that is the case.
‘Daniel told me he wants to stay, and there is no doubt he is 100 percent committed to the club. But they are waiting and waiting and do not know what is going on.’
Steffensen’s unauthorised meeting with Milan’s chief transfer negotiator caused dismay within Anfield, but he denied trying to set up a deal for Agger and dismissed reports that the 24-year old wants £70,000 a week to sign a new contract.
‘I am a proper agent and would not talk to another club when Daniel still has 18 months on his contract at Liverpool,’ he said.
‘I was in Milan to try and build up a relationship with people there.
‘It is not all about money with Daniel. I have had only one meeting with Liverpool, when they played Atletico Madrid at the start of November, and heard nothing from them since.
'It is very unfair on Daniel that there has been talk of £70,000 a week, because that isn’t the case.’
Benitez admitted his decision to walk away from his own contract negotiations could impact on other players.
There were no regrets, though, about taking such a stance or about his outburst against Manchester United earlier.
‘It is true we could face a similar situation with other players, not just Agger,’ he said.
‘I wanted to finish with my contract in one week, so I could deal with other things, but it has not been possible.
‘There was a problem with it, and I decided to stop the talks for the sake of the club and the team, so we could all concentrate on challenging for the title without any distractions.
‘I really don’t know whether it will prove difficult to resolve or not.
'For me, it should be easy, because I am not talking about controlling everything.
'I am talking about football matters, working within a budget and making sure we continue to progress. That is all.’
Benitez, who wants complete control over transfers, said: ‘Once a budget is set, there is only one person who can decide how it should be spent, and that is the manager.
‘I don’t have any personal problems with Rick Parry. If I have one chief executive or 20, it doesn’t matter.
'I will work with them. But it couldn’t be any clearer that the manager has to decide how money is spent on players.
‘I want to stay here many more years, if possible, but the talks had been going on for two months.
'I wanted it all tied up inside a week, ideally, so when we could not progress any further, I finished the conversation.
'It was in everyone’s best interests, better than carrying on with questions and speculation week after week.
‘It is the same with what I said about Mr. Ferguson. I was thinking about what is best for my club and my team, and a lot of people have agreed with me.
'You cannot wait until May, because it is too late then to find a solution.
‘Things needed saying now, and I think what I said is going to help us for the rest of the season.
'It will take some of the pressure off my players, for one thing, and also make people think about the things Mr. Ferguson gets up to.
‘When United played, a couple of days later, I was really pleased to see the television cameras were following him and the referee throughout.
Ahead of Monday’s Merseyside derby, Benitez — already at odds with Tom Hicks and George Gillett over his own contract — hit out over the growing threat of losing Agger to AC Milan by insisting: ‘The club have been too slow dealing with this and the player does not know where he stands.’
Agger’s agent Per Steffensen tried to play down the significance of meeting Milan sporting director Ariedo Braida in a city centre restaurant last week but admitted there had been no contact from Liverpool since the beginning of November.
The Denmark defender’s current deal runs out at the end of next season, and a summer move to the San Siro looks increasingly likely after Benitez poured out his frustration over the deadlock.
‘The club have been slow dealing with Agger,’ he said.
‘His situation is in the papers all the time now because we were not quick enough.
'I was talking with him and his agent, and it is clear that is the case.
‘Daniel told me he wants to stay, and there is no doubt he is 100 percent committed to the club. But they are waiting and waiting and do not know what is going on.’
Steffensen’s unauthorised meeting with Milan’s chief transfer negotiator caused dismay within Anfield, but he denied trying to set up a deal for Agger and dismissed reports that the 24-year old wants £70,000 a week to sign a new contract.
‘I am a proper agent and would not talk to another club when Daniel still has 18 months on his contract at Liverpool,’ he said.
‘I was in Milan to try and build up a relationship with people there.
‘It is not all about money with Daniel. I have had only one meeting with Liverpool, when they played Atletico Madrid at the start of November, and heard nothing from them since.
'It is very unfair on Daniel that there has been talk of £70,000 a week, because that isn’t the case.’
Benitez admitted his decision to walk away from his own contract negotiations could impact on other players.
There were no regrets, though, about taking such a stance or about his outburst against Manchester United earlier.
‘It is true we could face a similar situation with other players, not just Agger,’ he said.
‘I wanted to finish with my contract in one week, so I could deal with other things, but it has not been possible.
‘There was a problem with it, and I decided to stop the talks for the sake of the club and the team, so we could all concentrate on challenging for the title without any distractions.
‘I really don’t know whether it will prove difficult to resolve or not.
'For me, it should be easy, because I am not talking about controlling everything.
'I am talking about football matters, working within a budget and making sure we continue to progress. That is all.’
Benitez, who wants complete control over transfers, said: ‘Once a budget is set, there is only one person who can decide how it should be spent, and that is the manager.
‘I don’t have any personal problems with Rick Parry. If I have one chief executive or 20, it doesn’t matter.
'I will work with them. But it couldn’t be any clearer that the manager has to decide how money is spent on players.
‘I want to stay here many more years, if possible, but the talks had been going on for two months.
'I wanted it all tied up inside a week, ideally, so when we could not progress any further, I finished the conversation.
'It was in everyone’s best interests, better than carrying on with questions and speculation week after week.
‘It is the same with what I said about Mr. Ferguson. I was thinking about what is best for my club and my team, and a lot of people have agreed with me.
'You cannot wait until May, because it is too late then to find a solution.
‘Things needed saying now, and I think what I said is going to help us for the rest of the season.
'It will take some of the pressure off my players, for one thing, and also make people think about the things Mr. Ferguson gets up to.
‘When United played, a couple of days later, I was really pleased to see the television cameras were following him and the referee throughout.
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