Rafa Benitez claims he was not given enough money to win the Premier League while at Liverpool

  • Rafa Benitez said he was denied the chance to win the league at Liverpool
  • The current Newcastle boss claimed he was not given enough money
  • Newcastle face Liverpool at St James' Park in the Premier League on Sunday 

Rafa Benitez regrets that he was denied the chance to build a dynasty at Liverpool.

Ahead of Sunday's visit to St St James's Park by his former club, Benitez said that he would have been happy to spend the remainder of his career at Anfield after leading Liverpool to their fifth European Champions title in 2005.

But after a change of ownership, the departure of chairman David Moores and chief executive Rick Parry, a disillusioned Benitez left Liverpool in 2010 after six seasons in charge.

Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez says he was denied the chance to win the league with Liverpool

Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez says he was denied the chance to win the league with Liverpool

'They were people who really understood football,' Benitez said.


He added: 'Unfortunately that board didn't have the money to compete against the top sides and had to sell. The new owners ran it more as a business than a football club.'

Benitez claims he never had enough money to win the title at Liverpool. 'When I arrived at Liverpool the budget was £20m gross. When I left, it was £17m, but people still said I must win the title. Manchester United had around £50m more every year and then came Chelsea so you were up against massive clubs with massive amounts of money.'

Benitez's ambitions for Newcastle's first season back in the Premier League are modest: securing their place in the division, and despite an early exit from the League Cup, some silverware. 'Can we win trophies? Yes, for sure. It depends on a lot of things but in a cup competition, it can happen.'

Benitez claims he was never given enough money to challenge with the likes of Chelsea 

Benitez claims he was never given enough money to challenge with the likes of Chelsea