Rafa begins Anfield purge

Less than 24 hours after Liverpool’s Champions League final failure, boss Rafael Benitez was already planning his clear-out.

The Liverpool boss has told midfielder Bolo Zenden he is free to talk to other clubs with his contract due to expire, while Chile winger Mark Gonzalez is on the brink of a £5m move to Real Betis.

And with offers likely to be on the table for striker Craig Bellamy, who could not even get off the bench in last night’s 2-1 defeat here by AC Milan, the Welsh forward could also have played his last game for the club.

With Robbie Fowler and Jerzy Dudek already released, this is just the start of a major overhaul of Benitez’s squad.

More will soon follow with the Spanish manager having told the club’s new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett that it will need £100m-plus to revamp a squad that finished third in the Premier League.