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Balague rubbishes Rafa quit rumours

Published by fiz on October 14, 2008

Rumours claiming that manager Rafael Benitez is on a shortlist to replace under-pressure Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri, have been dismissed today by Guillem Balague as completely untrue and without foundation.

The Mirror reported that Rafa is on a shortlist to replace Claudio Ranieri at Juventus.

“At this moment in time neither Rafa Benitez nor the club has any idea where this story originates and the notion that the Liverpool boss could quit the premiership for Serie A is completely without foundation.

“It is true that Rafa does have a healthy professional relationship with Juventus and he was in contact with the Italian club during the summer – but strictly in relation to the Xabi Alonso transfer saga,” Balague added.

“It has been suggested, in a number of papers, that the timing of this story could influence Liverpool’s American owners to secure Benitez’s long-term future.

“Nevertheless, for the moment, as I understand it, the situation remains unchanged regarding Rafa’s contract and, following Hicks’ instruction that Rick Parry will resolve the issue – there appears to be no great rush, from either party, to put pen to paper.”

“However, this does not mean that neither side is willing to commit Benitez’ future to Liverpool.”

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