American duo hear of Benitez 'genius'

Steven Gerrard told Liverpool’s new American owners to keep faith with manager Rafael Benitez because he views the Spaniard as “one of the great geniuses of the modern game”.

Gerrard and fellow Scouser Jamie Carragher pulled no punches at their first meeting with George Gillett and Tom Hicks – but presented the pair with a signed shirt each.

Gillett said: “They spoke extremely warmly about Rafa and made us aware that they feel this man is truly one of the great geniuses in the recent history of the sport.

“Secondly, they wanted to talk about players and to encourage us to support [chief executive] Rick [Parry] and Rafa’s efforts in building the team.

“They were also clear with their views on the stadium. They made us aware the sound, the energy and the passion that Anfield provides needs to be incorporated into the design of the new stadium.”

The £470m takeover means work is now expected to start on the new 60,000-seater Stanley Park stadium within the next two months, with the new owners also considering selling the naming rights on the ground.

Gillett and Hicks made clear, however, that there was no chance of sharing the stadium with Merseyside neighbours Everton.

The two sports tycoons, who both own NHL ice hockey franchises, also threw down the gauntlet to Manchester United and Chelsea by promising to make Liverpool the biggest and best club in the world.

They will be in direct competition with fellow Americans the Glazer family but, unlike United’s owners, the two sports tycoons insist there will be no debt tied to Liverpool from their purchase.

Gillett said: “This is truly the largest sport in the world, the most important sport in the world, and this is the most important club in the most important sport in the world, and what a privilege we have to be associated with it.

“We have purchased the club with no debt on the club so, in that regard, it is different [to the Glazers]. We believe in the future of the club, the future of the league, the new TV contracts are outstanding and we are proud to be a part of it.

“If you look at the Premier League today, it is a strong revenue-generating body for the leading teams. I believe it has the chance to be a growing industry over time and we need all the revenues we can possibly find to compete with Manchester and Chelsea.”

Gillett and Hicks will become co-chairmen, and each will have one of their sons on the board.

Liverpool chairman David Moores will become honorary life president and Parry will continue as chief executive running the club on a day-to-day basis.

The Americans had a meeting with Benitez yesterday and promised they would back him with funds for new signings, insisting they will not put a ceiling on spending.

Hicks said: “We are not going to put a budget on squad development, we are going to wait for Rick and Rafa to bring us those plans and requests and we are going to support them.

“Rafa’s strategies and philosophies are very similar to our own, with a strong core of veterans with highly-talented young athletes.

“You need to keep your star players but also develop your young players.

“Young players are the lifeblood of your team, so we talked about how we can improve that side of the team.”