Benitez leaves Valencia as Thai bid for Reds remains

Rafael Benitez struggled to control his emotions as he walked out on Primera Liga champions Valencia with Liverpool expected to be his next destination.

The 44-year-old coach was reduced to tears as he confirmed his exit from the Mestalla Stadium, where he has won two Spanish league titles in three seasons and also landed the UEFA Cup last month.

Liverpool chief Rick Parry, aware of the development from his Bahamas holiday hotel and not officially back at Anfield until the weekend, will now work to complete the deal to bring Benitez to Merseyside before the start of Euro 2004 next week.

And while the dramatic developments in the race to find Gerard Houllier’s successor were unfolding in Spain, it emerged that the £60million bid by Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for a 30% stake in the club was still alive.

Deputy commerce minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said: “[Negotiators] are still looking at Liverpool’s books and the deal is still on, but discussions are expected to become more difficult.”

So Benitez, reportedly set to pen a four-year contract worth £8million, could have cash available to raid the European transfer market in the summer.

Parry is confident Benitez will reject any late moves from Inter Milan and Besiktas – just as he did Valencia’s desperate attempts to persuade him to sign a two-year extension to his current deal, which had one season still to run.

Instead Benitez – who often clashed with the Valencia’s bosses over finance and team control – opted to quit immediately.

He said: “This is possibly one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in my sporting life. I am not going to continue.

“I value the efforts of the club to renew my contract, but the physical and psychological effects last season had on me have made me consider my future. We are going to analyse the future in the next few days to make the best possible decision.

“I want to thank everyone, the players and the employees of the club, the media and especially the fans for their support.”

He was then overcome with emotion and left the room in tears, unable to read the final lines of his statement.

It was later revealed the words he could not say were: “I have two daughters, one is a Valencia fan, and Valencia will always be in my thoughts and in my heart.”

But Valencia were genuinely stunned by the decision, having expected that their contract offer plus money to spend in the transfer market would persuade Benitez to stay on.

Valencia’s director general Manuel Llorente stressed: “We have done all we can for a long time for him to be happy and continue. It has not been a question about money or contract length.”

Valencia president Jamie Orti put on a brave face, but he must find it difficult to lose the man who has overseen a golden era in the club’s history and been the most successful coach in their 85-year history.

In three years at the helm, Benitez built on the empire left behind by Hector Cuper.

Orti said: “Valencia did everything possible, not just for him to stay, but for him to extend his contract.

“We all know he had a year left on his contract, and we have to congratulate him on his time at the club.

“But we have to defend our interests and Valencia is not going to fall apart and stop progressing. I want Valencia to have and to achieve more objectives than ever.”

Orti could turn to Claudio Ranieri, a former Valencia coach whose tenure at Chelsea came to an end on Monday, but he has had little time to consider Benitez’s replacement.

Many Valencia players have already embarked on their summer holidays. Others are preparing for action at Euro 2004, such as Spain midfielder David Albelda who insisted Valencia would continue to thrive under a new coach.

Speaking from Spain’s training camp in Madrid, he said: “We have to try and take this as a stimulus and keep on working.

“Benitez will go down as one of Valencia’s best coaches and we knew it could happen, but sometimes it’s easier to change a coach than all of the players.”

Benitez constantly argued with his board, but maintained a great relationship with his players.

Albelda said: “There has been no problem with any of us, we have been with him for three years and maybe he thinks his cycle has ended.

“He came after a good period that we had with Hector Cuper and Claudio Ranieri. It was another stage in what has been a good time for the club.”