Rafael Benitez

London: Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez would quit the club if he was ever forced to sell Spain striker Fernando Torres, but he remains confident of keeping his prize forward.

The Spaniard, who has come under fire after Liverpool’s shaky start to the season, also defended his transfer dealings and said he had put the club back on the world map since taking over five years ago.

“I’m confident it will never happen,” Benitez said on Tuesday, when asked whether he would ever sanction the sale of Torres to pay off some of the club’s debts. “Sell Torres and I quit.”

With Liverpool having lost five of their opening 12 Premier League matches, in danger of going out of the Champions League and already out of the League Cup, a raft of injuries has exposed a squad that appears to be lacking sufficient quality.

The sales of Xavi Alonso and Robbie Keane in the past year have also been questioned, while major signing Alberto Aquilani, a £17 million acquisition from Roma, has hardly featured after the playmaker arrived with an ankle injury.

Highly-rated Dutch winger Ryan Babel, another Benitez signing, has struggled to make an impact as have the likes of David N’gog and Lucas Leiva.

“We can only buy one or two big, £20 million players a year,” Benitez said. “If we want to have money available, then we have to sell some players. We have to sell expensive and buy as cheaply as possible.” (Reuters)