Saturday, February 28, 2009

Rafa Benitez: I Did Not Make Rick Parry Quit Liverpool

Rafa Benitez last night insisted that he did not demand the departure of Anfield chief executive Rick Parry.

And the Liverpool manager warned he still has issues to resolve before he will sign a new contract that has been on the table for the past five months.

Parry will leave at the end of the season after losing a long and acrimonious power battle with Benitez and Tom Hicks, the club’s American co-owner. Benitez said: "My negotiations are not a question of power, they are about normal football matters. I have never said I won’t sign a contract if Rick Parry stays.

"This won’t have a bearing on whether I sign or not. Rick Parry going is not one of the issues. I don’t see why people say I won."

While it’s hard to believe Benitez had nothing to do with Parry’s departure, it is true that he was not the sole instigator.

Parry has gone because Tom Hicks has wanted him out for a year, and co-owner George Gillett has decided he can no longer protect the chief executive, pointing to his own imminent departure.

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