Liverpool CEO wants to clear the air with Benitez

Rafael Benitez will decide on his Liverpool future once the Champions League campaign is over as club chief executive Rick Parry signaled he wants to clear the air with the Reds manager.

Benitez has expressed his shock after learning that Parry was present when American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett met Jurgen Klinsmann in November.

Parry said: "I am more than happy to sit down and talk to Rafa about this."

The Spaniard is as close as he has ever been to quitting Liverpool but he is adamant he wants to target a second European Cup triumph before making any decisions.

Those close to the chief executive say he only attended the meeting in New York after being told to do so by Hicks and Gillett, and he was acutely aware of how unsettling it would be for the club if news of it leaked out - as it eventually did via Hicks.

Parry now wants to clear the air with Benitez. Meanwhile there have been reports that Hicks held a follow-up meeting with the former Germany manager at his holiday home in California. According to the Liverpool Echo, Parry was not present at the second meeting.

Furthermore, it is understood that Hicks has continued to maintain some links with Klinsmann's advisers.

The latest developments in the Anfield power struggle were sparked by Hicks' demand for Parry to resign last week - he has refused to do so as he has the backing of Gillett and former chairman David Moores.