Rafa calls on owners to sort out his contract
Liverpool face Middlesbrough on Saturday at the Riverside Stadium
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Friday, 27, Feb 2009 09:31
Rafael Benitez has urged Liverpool's owners to sort out his contract next week.
The Spaniard insists he wants to stay at Anfield despite rumours on Wednesday that he was ready to quit and become Real Madrid boss.
Benitez's contract is due to expire in the summer of 2010. Reports claim he has refused drafted extensions offered by the club's American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.
The Spaniard is thought to be keen on having full control of the club's transfer policy and academy recruitment plans, which will be helped by the departure of chief executive Rick Parry.
But Benitez has revealed that his representatives have still to meet with Hicks and Gillett, despite the ongoing saga.
"I have been talking about the need for the owners and my advisors to talk, and they are still to talk," the ex-Valencia manager said.
"We will have new talks maybe next week. We will see whether we can progress, it is not about who is there or not at the moment, it is about the future.
"It is important to finalise my contract, but we have been working for months on this, so let's see where we go from here."
Benitez has won the Champions League and FA Cup since arriving in 2004.