Benitez eager for Gerrard to stay
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-05 09:18

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez wants Steven Gerrard to stay at the club for life.
Gerrard's agent was today reported to have told Sky Sports that talks with Liverpool have 'stalled and are unlikely to be reopened'.

The 25-year-old England midfielder, who has been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Chelsea, still has two years left on his contract and Benitez is determined to keep him at Anfield.

He said: 'I have spoken to Rick Parry. We want Steven Gerrard with us for next season and the rest of his life.

'If I decide to go after eight years or so, I would like to see him as assistant manager, chief scout, if he wants, or maybe as manager.'

He added: 'The main thing is we want him to stay with us and we will try until the end.'

In response to concerns about Liverpool's ambitions, Benitez claimed the club had tried to keep Gerrard happy with a recruitment drive.

As well as the acquisition of Holland international Boudewijn Zenden, Benitez also confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Jose Reina from Villarreal, Mark Gonzales has signed from Albacete and young right back Antonio Barragan from Sevilla.

He added: 'Three times we started to talk to him about a new deal last season, and he always said we need to wait.

'After we had won the Champions League we spoke about how to best improve the team.

'We have today introduced Bolo Zenden as a Liverpool player but we have also signed Jose Reina, the best goalkeeper in Spain, Mark Gonzales, the best player in Chile and Antonio Barragan.

'We will be signing two or three more players this week.'

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry reiterated Benitez's remarks and flatly denied any wish to sell the player.

He told the Liverpool Echo: 'Rafa wants Steven to stay and couldn't have made it any clearer.

'We still hope this situation is repairable. We are completely surprised by the comments this morning, having made it clear since January we wanted to talk to Steven about a new contract.

'For anyone to make an issue of a delay of just a few days makes no sense. When we met on Wednesday, things were fine.

'We have wanted to keep Steven all along. There has never been any suggestion we wanted to sell him.

'Money is not an issue. There are no financial concerns regarding Steven's contract so any suggestion to the contrary is wrong.''

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