Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has revealed he considered signing Michael Owen this summer, but came to the conclusion that he would not command a regular first-team place.

The 29-year-old spent eight successful seasons at Anfield at the start of his career, scoring 158 goals in all competitions.

However that has not stopped the striker joining the Reds’ fiercest rivals Manchester United on a free transfer from Newcastle this summer.

Benitez told The People: “We had contact with different people and were analysing the situation.

“But if you want to play Torres and Gerrard there is not always a lot of space for other players.

“When I brought back Robbie Fowler it was a different situation. We were looking for someone who could understand his role clearly and he was a good finisher.

“But we have a World Cup coming up and all the top players want to play. In his position it would be hard for Owen to play every week at Liverpool.”

The Spaniard is also confident he already has enough squad depth at his disposal to cope with any injuries to his preferred front pairing.

“We are confident in (Dirk) Kuyt, (Ryan) Babel, (David) Ngog and (Andriy) Voronin for next season. We have players with quality,” he added.

“People say I might need another striker but I remember signing Robbie Keane and everyone was saying good things.

“Then after I sold Robbie people were saying I was short of strikers but we scored more goals than anyone in the Premier League.”

John Terry will reportedly be offered a £25,000-a-week pay rise to ward off interest from Manchester City.

The Daily Mirror claims that Chelsea will make Terry the highest-paid player at Stamford Bridge with a £7.7m-a-year offer.

That figure would still see Terry earning around half of the money reportedly offered by Manchester City.

The England captain returns to training this week to meet new boss Carlo Ancelotti for the first time and is expected to be met with a new contract offer.

Chairman Bruce Buck said: “My line as a Chelsea fan, is that I would be devastated if John Terry left Chelsea. Having said that, it’s not going to happen. John Terry is synonymous with Chelsea and Chelsea is synonymous with John Terry.

“He has been here since he was a wee tot, he is the captain of Chelsea, he is the captain of England, he is the backbone of our team, he is not leaving.”

Real Zaragoza have completed the signing of winger Jermaine Pennant after his release by Liverpool at the end of his contract.

The former Arsenal youngster passed a medical with the Spanish outfit on Thursday and will join their bid for survival next season after being promoted back to the Primera Division.

The 26-year-old becomes Zaragoza’s first signing of the summer and joins on a three-year deal.

Pennant told the club’s website: “I wanted to come to Spain and I had offers from important teams in Europe but joined Real Zaragoza.

“I really want to get started and do well in the league.”

Pennant spent time on loan at Portsmouth last season after being frozen out at Anfield.

The former England Under-21 winger impressed for Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final defeat by AC Milan but found opportunities increasingly limited from then on.

Rafael Benitez unveiled new boy Glen Johnson on Thursday and took a swipe at Manchester City with their “money, money, money” approach to the transfer market.

The Liverpool boss has spent £17million on the England full-back, a large chunk of which is wiped out by the cash Portsmouth still owe the Anfield club from the Peter Crouch deal.

And while Benitez played hardball with Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano over their long-term futures, he accepts that the market was now “crazy” and dominated by money.

He even admitted that he had tried again to sign Gareth Barry this summer from Aston Villa, but he eventually went to City.

Benitez said: “We had to pay big money, the market is now crazy. It is all money, money, money now. But we were signing a good player, an England player, and that is very positive.

“He has a good mentality, and when I spoke to him first it was clear he wanted to come here.

“Things have changed. You have to adapt to a situation. Manchester City and big clubs in Europe are spending big money, so the market has changed and we have to work harder.

“You have to do that to stay at the level we are at because of the big money being spent here and abroad.”

City also wanted Johnson, but Benitez said: “It was difficult, some clubs are offering big money. But he wanted to come here, that was the difference.

“We did go back again for Barry, but as I said, it is all about money, money, money. It is as simple as that.”

On City’s influence on the market and their prospects for next term, Benitez added: “City have signed a lot of good players, but that is no guarantee they will win anything. But it will be interesting to see what happens next season.

“But whatever happens, experience is more important and we feel that we have that to be in the top positions.

“If you spend big it is always easier to perform well. But when you have a good understanding between players that is also important. If they are together, they work hard, that is just as important.”

Benitez has also had to contend with a summer of transfer speculation over Alonso, wanted by Real Madrid, and Mascherano, a target for European champions Barcelona.

But although it is believed both players are being swayed by the advances of the Spanish club, Benitez made it clear that he does not want to sell and would like some loyalty shown by the pair.

He said: “I do not think Alonso or Mascherano will go. It is clear that they both are under contract with long-term agreements. That is it.

“There has been a lot of things written, a lot of rumours, but both players are under contract and we have no more need to talk about things.

“They are both very good players and I will be very pleased to keep them. They both have very good contracts.

“We signed them both from different situations. Alonso was coming from Real Sociedad and nobody had really heard much of him outside of Spain, he did well and we renewed his contract because of that.

“Mascherano came from West Ham where he had not been doing well. We brought him here and gave him a good contract, so we are very pleased with them both and that Liverpool has been very good to them.”

Benitez also dismissed rumours that full back Fabio Aurelio will be out for six months with a knee injury.

He said: “One, maybe two months, I expect him back by then. Certainly not six.”

Glen Johnson has agreed a four-year contract with Liverpool after completing his transfer from Portsmouth.

Johnson was a target of ex-club Chelsea and Manchester City but has opted to move to Liverpool where he is expected to be a first-choice selection in the Reds’ back four.

The fee is believed to be in the region of £17.5million, but there is some uncertainty regarding expenses still owed to Liverpool from Pompey following Peter Crouch’s transfer to Fratton Park.

Manager Rafael Benitez told Liverpool’s official website: “We were thinking about bringing in players with quality - that’s the first thing.

“He is also English and that is important for the Champions League list. We were thinking about improving the team and Johnson is a very good player who will do that.

“He was important at Chelsea and in the last year at Portsmouth he has improved and is much better.

“One of the main things is his mentality - it’s really good. He is a winner. I was impressed with the conversations I had with him. He wants to improve.

“We knew the market was going to be difficult this summer and some of it has been crazy. Manchester City and Chelsea were there - they were making offers.

“We had to be quick and the club acted quickly. It was down to the player whether he chose us or City or Chelsea and he chose us. It was very clear from talking to him that he wanted to play for Liverpool.”

Lionel Messi has again urged Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano to consider a move to Barcelona.

The Argentine forward admits he would relish the opportunity to play alongside his countryman at club level.

Following speculation he could leave Anfield this summer, Mascherano has been heavily linked with a move to the Nou Camp.

Admitting to being flattered by reported interest from the Spanish champions, as well as Real Madrid, the 25-year-old has dropped his biggest hint yet that he may switch to La Liga.

Encouraging his compatriot to consider a move to Barca, Messi admits a possible deal is exciting for him and the club.

“Of course I would like him to join,” he told El Mundo Deportivo.

“Who would not want to play with great players like Javier? I hope he can come here.”

Messi admitted that his main target next term is to add to Barca’s flourishing trophy cabinet.

He also spoke of his international ambition, saying: “There are two things I would wish for and the first is that Barcelona can win more trophies, the second is for Argentina to win the World Cup next year.

“We (Barca) can dream about another treble, but it will be extremely difficult.”

Asked his opinion on Cristiano Ronaldo’s impending £80million move to Real Madrid, he said: “If there is a club that sells and a club willing to buy then that is that.

“I am not going to enter into the rights and wrongs because that is not my place, I just play.

“It does seem like a big fee, but as I have said it is not really my place.”

Sir Alex Ferguson has got a £100million to spend on transfers after he personally gave the order for Cristiano Ronaldo to be sold to Real Madrid, the departure of Ronaldo will leave a big hole to fill in the United squad, which Sir Alex Ferguson will try to fill with the £80 million coming from by selling Ronaldo and £20 million will be handed over to him as transfer budget from the club.

Ever since the news of Ronaldo leaving the club has arrived the news papers are yelling just one thing out to Sir Alex Ferguson,

Spend, Spend, Spend

accordint to www.manutd.com (the clubs official web site),
United last night prepared to enter a bidding war with Chelsea for France international Franck Ribery which could go as high as £65m. Old Trafford boss Ferguson is also known to have Lyon’s £25m forward Karim Benzema on his hit list and he hopes to conclude the £16m signing of Wigan’s Antonio Valencia in the near future

the web site goes on to mention,
Wigan’s Ecuador winger Valencia has long been a Ferguson target and he will almost certainly join shortly while the United manager has not yet given up on persuading Carlos Tevez to stay on a long-term deal. As well as Benzema, Ferguson’s hit-list includes Barcelona holding player Yaya Toure. It is, however, the prospect of United going head to head with Chelsea for Bayern Munich’s Ribery that looks the most mouthwatering. Bayern have already indicated the 26-year-old is not for sale and it will take an offer of around £65m for the Frenchman to be prised away.

United have been linked with a host of top talents since Ronaldo’s potential departure was announced. The Guardian says Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o could arrive, while wingers David Silva (The Times) and Arjen Robben (Daily Star) are also being monitored.

according to www.footballtransferleague.co.uk,
ManU’s most probable out this summer is none other than Carlos Tevez according to the website Carlos Tevez can leave United for either of the following clubs

• Manchester City
• Liverpool
• Real Madrid
• Chelsea
• Tottenham
• Inter Milan

and the most probable INs are

• Luis Antonio Valencia (Wigan)
• Karim Benzema (Lyon)
• Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
• Nicolas Bertolo (Atletico Banfield)
• Jose Rodolfo Pires Ribeiro Dodo (Corinthians)
• Neymar da Silva (Santos)
• Alexis Sanchez (Udinese)
• Walter Henrique da Silva (Internacional)
• Douglas Costa (Gremio)
• Victor Mongil (Real Valladolid)
• Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
• Paul Pogba (Le Havre)
• Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Real Madrid)
• Kyle Naughton (Sheffield Utd)
• Arjen Robben (Real Madrid)
• David Silva (Valencia)
• Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona)

well £100million is a lot of money to burn, Sir Alex has got a huge responsibility on his shoulders to fill in Ronaldo’d boats. United fans will hope that he spend (which he usually does) spend this much of money in the right way to keep his squad tough for the next season.

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