The Reporter - English Version (Old Version Archive) - Benitez warns City off Torres bid

Home

Benitez warns City off Torres bid

Saturday, 24 April 2010

Rafael Benitez has warned Manchester City they have little hope of signing Fernando Torres this summer.

Roberto Mancini said on Thursday that he believes City "must buy a top player" and confirmed that they would be among the bidders for Torres should he be made available when the transfer window reopens.

"We are a top team and I think all the top teams are interested in Torres, but sometimes it depends on the player because they want to play in the Champions League," Mancini said. "If we don't get into the fourth position, it will be difficult.

"All the top players want to play in the Champions League. But I want to win the Premier League - this is my desire even ahead of the Champions League, and I want players to understand that Manchester City are an important project for the future and that they can come here not only if we get fourth position.

"For me, he [Torres] is, with Carlos [Tevez], Rooney, Messi, Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo, the best in Europe. I have read that Liverpool have to sell one or two players but I don't know what their situation is exactly."

However, following the 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Europa League in which Liverpool again suffered in the absence of their star striker, Benitez insisted City will not persuade Torres to leave Anfield.

"Torres is happy," he said. "The thing he's thinking about now is being ready as soon as possible and that's it. From the beginning, he's said he's been very happy at Anfield.

"We have said repeatedly that Fernando is not for sale and he still has three years of his contract remaining, so how can they sign a player who does not wish to leave?"

While Benitez admits Liverpool missed Torres in Madrid, he insists the 3-0 win over West Ham on Monday showed they have other options.

"I think we proved the other day that we can score goals. It doesn't matter which player, but we have players who can score. Of course we have to push and attack and I'm sure someone will score.

"I would love to have had more strikers but I didn't have Torres this time." (Soccernet)

< Prev		Next >

Headline

1/10

EU EOM deploys election observers

By Merga Yonas

The European Union Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia (EU EOM) deployed 90 Long Term Observers (LTOs) to every region of the country on Tuesday April 27, it was learnt.

News

GTZ-ISAudit finds millions of birr missing at warehouses

GTZ-IS management, procurement staff at loggerheads over contract termination

By Hayal Alemayehu

Audit findings indicate missing stocks worth tens of millions of birr at the warehouses managed by the German Technical Corporation International Services (GTZ-IS) for the grand university project involving the construction of thirteen universities and other construction activities it is undertaking in Ethiopia, sources told The Reporter.

Editorial

Observing political decorum

The adage "politics is dirty" is not our byword for politics is essential for the advancement of a society. But we do not believe that politics is "hallowed" or that politicians are "blessed" fellows without whose "divine intervention" the world will not be saved.

Business and Economy

Can this be Ethiopia's decade?

By Asrat Seyoum

The Washington-based international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), in one way or another, occupy the front seat in the global economic arena.

Letter to Reporter

To the Editor-in-Chief

The Embassy has read the article entitled "Iran's failing "Mullahnomics" (The Reporter, March 27) published in your esteemed newspaper.

Economic Indicator

Monetary development

(Part 1)

The focus of monetary policy continued to be geared towards containing inflationary pressures.

Economic Highlight

Djibouti grants monopoly on port operation

A crisis is looming between Ethiopian authorities and their Djiboutian counterparts, following a new directive that is deemed to have given a monopolistic position to an alliance of private companies on the operation of stripping, stuffing, and “unstuffing” of containers.

Politics and Law

"The ruling party does not understand the concept of growth properly"

Temesgen Zewdie

Temesgen Zewdie is vice chairman of Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ). He is a business administration major and member of the House of Peoples' Representatives.

Opinion

Cosmopolitanism and rapid urbanization

By Biruk Gebremedhin

Changes in the modern world have been mainly a common distinction between cosmopolitanism, which is concerned with the expansion of rapid urbanization, and the concern that envisage institutions that might create a better society.

Interview

Does growth in GDP transform itself into Human Development and Human Security?

BT Costantinos, Ph.D., is lecturer at the School of Post-Graduate Studies, AAU and an Economist who has written many articles on the Ethiopian economy. The Reporter interviewed him on current issues of the economy: excerpts

Life and Art

Five cents here, five cents there

Loss in millions

By Yelibenwork Ayele

A few years ago Kibebew Geda, a popular Ethiopian comedian, cracked a joke in which an old housewife goes to the market to buy some eggs. Finding the eggs more expensive than usual, Woiz.

By the way

Communication with the mind?

You don't usually encounter the subject of telepathy outside the world of science fiction. The ability to send your thoughts to someone else seems like a type of magic.

Science and Technology

Chinese farmer's homemade robots set to go global

A Chinese farmer who has devoted his life to making his own robots is set to see his fame go international - and says he wants to being his creation to the UK.

Sport

Dereje Tesfaye, Alex Kirui to compete in Madrid

Women’s lineup includes Letay Hadish, Desta Girma

No less than 10,778 runners will gather on Sunday, April 25, to take part in the 33rd ‘Maratón Popular de Madrid’.