What would you be saying Rafa if the boot was on the other foot?

They say All’s Fair in Love and War, and judging by the way he’s been acting recently, Rafa Benitez’s attempts to sign up two Liverpool players would certainly seem to suggest that he believes as much. It would appear he has no qualms in taking assets from his old club, in order to enhance the value and strength of his new side.  There are those that would argue that at a club like Inter Milan – with a president, instead of a Chairman – Rafa would have little say in transfer activity, or fees offered.  That would be hard to believe however, given that the Spaniard left his two most recent clubs because of board interference.  He would never have moved straight to another club if he did not have full control of transfer policy, especially not after risking so much in fighting for this in his time at Liverpool.

In a lot of ways, Rafa’s behaviour is that of a jilted lover; he was pushed out – against his will but grudgingly accepted that things were over – paid off, and quickly found a new partner. However, he has since been casting a desirous eye at Liverpool. It’s as if he wasn’t quite happy with the first agreement, and since the divorce, he’s decided he actually really liked that lamp, and was quite fond of that couch (to use Rafa’s own analogies) and now wants them for his new home in Milan.

First, Mascherano was his primary target – his former midfield enforcer who, let’s be honest, would spend much of his time suspended in Italy – much like Vieira did in his spell in the same country. However, Rafa has always valued him very highly and wants him to anchor his Inter side. But to offer less than he paid for Mascherano himself 2 years ago, with 2 years left on his contract? One can only hope that he isn’t being spiteful, making such a pitiful offer. One can only hope even more so, that he isn’t trying to take advantage of a situation he himself struggled with for almost 4 years, with the club being in such a position that it cannot afford to play hardball over price. The same game Rafa himself was forced to play when effectively pricing the Argentine out of a move last summer, when valuing him at £30 million plus. The offers from Inter of £7.5 million plus Victor Obinna, and from Barcelona of £12.2 million plus Alexander Hleb border on the insulting, and now, with the news that Mascherano has ‘gone on strike’, one can only wonder how far the initially rejected offer must have affected the Argentine’s decision to undertake such an undignified action.

Likewise, with Kuyt; he was always Rafa’s first name on the team-sheet and one of his strongest supporters. He sees a player like Kuyt as ‘priceless’ for his work rate and attitude, and yet considers him to only be worth a fee of around £12 million. Despite him costing the club around about the same when he first signed as a relative unknown.  The combined offer from Inter of £33 million for both players would still only really cover the value of Mascherano alone, with Kuyt’s value being somewhere around the £15-£16 million mark.

Similarly, he has made it known that, if Inter could afford it he would be in for Torres too, and it is surely only his high price that has kept the Milanese from making a bid for a third Liverpool player.

For me, it is not that bids have been made that is so irksome, as the methods used to insinuate interest and unsettle players. As Liverpool manager, Rafa was constantly under fire from the press for his dismissal of bids and interest in his players; he heavily criticised Real Madrid and Chelsea for tapping up Steven Gerrard and Barcelona for constantly working away at Fernando Torres. He has even been the target of some underhand methods himself, when Real Madrid tried to prise him away from Liverpool.  Yet, in offering well below the accepted value – £18-£20 million, when he is worth at least £30 million plus – for Mascherano, he appears to be trying to muddy the waters a little; trying to unsettle the player with knowledge of a bid in the hope that he’ll agitate for a move and Inter can get him for way below his true value. To some degree, this appears to have worked, as Javier Mascherano has now effectively ruled himself out of ever playing for the club again, and if he hasn’t then his actions mean that he will be very unwelcome by most home fans should he ever wear the shirt again.

As an ardent supporter of Rafa Benitez, I would have him back at the club in a heartbeat. I am still hopeful that he intends to return to Liverpool after a 2 year sabbatical on the sunny Italian peninsula but I have not appreciated his recent actions toward his old club. One can only imagine that, was the boot on the other foot – and Rafa still in charge at Anfield – that there would be hell to pay for whoever had directed such dismissive bids for Liverpool’s stars from Inter Milan’s corner.

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