Benitez anger at pay rise claims

Benitez is preparing for the Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has hit out at claims he has demanded a massive pay rise in his contract negotiations.

Benitez's agent is holding talks with Reds owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett over a new deal to replace his current one, which has 18 months left.

"I was surprised to read that I was demanding more money. That is not true," said the Spaniard.

"I told my agent when he went into the talks to not talk about money. The last question was about the money."

There are suggestions the owners were only prepared to offer Benitez a two-year extension, with Benitez clearly wanting more.

He explained: "The question was about the length of the contract, and after that it was my role.

606: DEBATE Will both sides come to a satisfactory agreement? JS

"We are talking about more (years) now, and we are happy with the talks.

"So when you see things said (about money), it means people are either not telling the truth or that people have very bad information or they want to create a mess.

"I was very disappointed with this. I say again, it is not true. I was not asking for anything, just telling my advisors to go to the meeting and hear what they (the owners) want. The owners were talking about an extension.

"Again I say, people have very bad information. Hopefully it will be resolved sooner rather than later, but I do not know when."