Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has opened up on three players he pushed, and failed, to sign whilst in the Anfield dugout.
The Spaniard enjoyed six years on Merseyside, leading the club to several trophies – notably Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League success in Istanbul.
However, Benitez has hinted that he believes he could have won more with the Reds if he was granted more financial firepower. The ex-Valencia boss has opened up on three players who he pushed the higher powers at Liverpool to sign, though all three pursuits were trumped by his side’s Premier League rivals.
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Speaking on The Overlap, Benitez explained: “Under Tom Hicks and George Gillett, I wanted to sign [Stevan] Jovetić and he was £16 million. In my head, I was selling players and had £34 million, but was told that we don’t have money.
“We went to play against Florentina and lost 2-0 – Jovetić scored both goals. I said that this was the player we wanted to sign but we didn’t have money.
“I wanted to sign Aaron Ramsey when he was playing for Cardiff City, and we made an offer of £1.5 million but Cardiff were playing in the FA Cup and wanted us to wait, but I told them that we had to do it, he was 17 years old. When we went again to try and sign him, Arsene Wenger paid £5 million, and we couldn’t sign him.”
With Liverpool unable to push for Jovic, Manchester City swooped to secure the signature of the striker. He went on to spend two seasons at the Etihad Stadium, scoring eight goals and registering four assists in that time.
Ramsey wrote himself into the Arsenal history books after he broke into their first team. Though injuries prevented him from enjoying an even greater career in north London, the Welshman made 262 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, scoring 40 goals and assisting 46.
However, it is Benitez’s third and final transfer blow that’ll break the hearts of Liverpool fans. He continued: “Gareth Bale, when he was 17 at Southampton, six months after we were watching him, Tottenham paid £8 million, and we couldn’t compete.”
Bale asserted himself as one of the best British players in Premier League history after making the move to Tottenham. The now-retired star transitioned from a full-back to a winger, scoring 53 goals and registering 22 assists along the way before joining Real Madrid, where he excelled even further.
