Source: Telegraph
Fernando Torres is happy at Liverpool, insists Rafael BenÃtez
In a thinly-veiled reference to the Spanish striker, Mancini declared on Thursday that he would consider spending some of City's owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan's billions on a "top player," an admission which brought a swift rebuke from Benitez.[LNB]"There are some things you cannot change in football," said the Liverpool manager. "I was not happy about [Mancini's comments] but when you talk to Fernando, I think he is happy and so hopefully everything will be OK.[LNB] Related ArticlesMancini: all teams in Europe want TorresManchester City line up £60m bid for TorresEuropa League semis to go aheadFernando Torres' best goalsRafael Benitez: Liverpool can turn tie around at AnfieldSport on television"It does happen at times but I would prefer to focus on my own team because we have some important games to play. I try not to talk about players at other clubs because I want to focus on the games we have." [LNB]It is believed that City have been encouraged by sources close to Torres - who is recuperating in Barcelona from his second knee operation of the season and was photographed using crutches on Friday - who have hinted that he would be willing to discuss a move should the Manchester club succeed in their pursuit of Champions League football. [LNB]Liverpool remain bullish that the player will not be sold. Martin Broughton, the club's new chairman appointed to secure new owners to replace Tom Hicks and George Gillett, insisted last week there was no imperative to sell players in order to meet Liverpool's debt obligations.[LNB]Though Torres has expressed private and public concern over the club's financial future, sources at Anfield said they were confident he did not wish to leave.[LNB]City's statement of intent, though, has not passed unnoticed in Spain, where radio reports yesterday indicated that Barcelona would be prepared to rival the Eastlands club for the striker's signature.[LNB]That the European champions already possess, in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one £60 million forward, though, suggests that they would be hard-pressed to find a role for Torres without a comprehensive review of their squad.[LNB]Benítez may not wish to comment on employees of other clubs, but it is understood that Liverpool took advantage of their trip to Madrid for Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg to meet representatives of Real Madrid, who alerted the Premier League club to the forthcoming availability of a number of players, including the Dutch international midfielder Rafael van der Vaart. [LNB]
