Not sure you can ever believe anything in the Daily Mail but experience dictates that this is believable...
ln the Red! Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez handed measly £5m summer transfer kitty
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks’ pledge to hand Rafael Benitez a ‘substantial transfer budget’ was in question last night after it emerged that the manager has no more than £5million to spend.
Despite three meetings with new Anfield chairman Martin Broughton, Benitez is still unsure if money generated from player sales will be made available to him for signings and remains wary of giving the go-ahead to deals that would see Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel, Albert Riera and Philipp Degen sold to foreign clubs.
Amid concern that it could take up to 18 months for Hicks and George Gillett to sell up as they hold out for £800m, and with Benitez’s own future still in some doubt, Liverpool are wide open to big offers for unsettled stars Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.
Please don't go: Rafa Benitez knows he faces a fight to keep Steven Gerrard
Both players have indicated they will wait until after the World Cup before making any firm decisions and incoming Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho yesterday became the first to register his interest in Gerrard openly.
Benitez is desperate to keep hold of the pair, a feeling shared by the various factions that have emerged at Anfield as Liverpool have descended deeper into debt and internal chaos.
But opinion is split over whether it might make financial sense to cash in on at least one of the stars if it allows the club to make several new signings.
Sacrificial Reds: Ryan Babel (right), Yossi Benayoun (centre) and Albert Riera could leave Anfield
Javier Mascherano, Pepe Reina and Glen Johnson are the other players Benitez would be loath to lose, although problems over agreeing a new contract with Mascherano have left the Liverpool boss with no option but to consider sacrificing the Argentina midfielder to try and raise transfer funds.
On Wednesday, Hicks ruled out the possibility of selling Liverpool’s top players and promised ‘significant investment’ this summer which, he claimed, would mean the club’s gross and net transfer spending had doubled since he and Gillett took over three years ago.
Confusion: Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks insists there is money to spend
Benitez is believed to be working to a budget of £4-5m. It is one of the reasons he has struggled to tie up a modest £2m deal for Rangers defender Danny Wilson, which would rise to £4m with add-ons.
The Liverpool boss has not always helped his own cause, however, with many fans still wondering why he paid £17m for Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani last summer.
Aquilani ruled out a move to Juventus yesterday, insisting he wants to stay.
