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Benitez desperate for Gerrard to stay
Rafael Benitez today revealed his desire for Steven Gerrard to stay at Liverpool for the rest of his career.
The inspirational England midfielder went to bed clutching the Champions League trophy last night for fear of mislaying it - just as the Liverpool boss had similarly endured the prospect of losing his prize asset amid a myriad of doubts over his captain's future all season.
That is until now. With Gerrard poised to sign a deal worth up to ￡100,000 a week, Benitez revealed his desire for the midfielder, who turns 25 next week, to stay at the club for the rest of his career. For he is counting upon Gerrard to underpin Liverpool's revival for many years to come, with the distractions of doubts over his future finally set to be removed. "One of the reasons we didn't play at our normal level in the Premiership was that people were always talking about Steven and his future,' revealed the Liverpool boss." "But now I think he'll be happy and, for sure, he will play well for us next season - and maybe 10 more seasons after that." "Steven said he wants to win more trophies and I'm sure he will stay with us. We need good players with heart and passion, and he's one of them." Having come so close to joining Chelsea last summer, Gerrard had been persuaded to test Liverpool's ambition for just one more season. It was worth the wait. "How can I leave after a night like this?' he admitted shortly after their penalty success despite trailing 3-0 to AC Milan at half-time." That was before the celebrations began and the cup joined him in his hotel bed for what was left of the night in Istanbul. "I slept with the cup in my hotel room. I did not want it out of my sight. When I woke up and someone took it away, I felt I had lost a part of me," he admitted. Chief executive Rick Parry smiled at Gerrard's next plan - to take the cup to his local pub in Huyton, just as Phil Thompson had done in 1984 - remarking 'we'll have to see about that!' However, he is delighted at Gerrard's declaration that he intends to sit down 'really soon' to discuss his future and that things are already 'looking good'. Parry responded: 'It's down to Steve how long he signs for. I don't think it's down to money for him, it's about his craving for success. "He's made no secret of the fact that his ideal would be to win trophies with Liverpool. That's our ambition too, so the two go hand in hand." "We always felt the key was that he could fulfil his ambitions at Liverpool. From when we sat down with him last year, he knows we're as ambitious as he is." "There was a dilemma for him last summer which we can understand but our message was 'stick with it and let's see what happens." "Well, look what has happened. It shows he made the right decision in terms of staying and now we want to kick on together." Gerrard put Liverpool back on the route to recovery in Istanbul, but even Benitez admitted all had appeared lost at half-time at 3-0 down. "The players were sitting there with their heads down. We knew it would be really difficult but we just talked about scoring one goal' he revealed." "Then maybe things could change - and they did. When our players heard the supporters, they ran a little bit more. By the end, Milan were really afraid." "The fans were always with us. We said we needed to do something for them and for us. When you start losing, you have to change not only the tactics but the mentality as well." Benitez brought on Dietmar Hamann for the injured Steve Finnan, made three defensive changes and, with Gerrard released forward, Liverpool struck three times in just six minutes. The amazing recovery act could prove costly for Benitez, having promised his wife some expensive jewellery if his team prevailed, but it is a price he is more than willing to pay. He concluded: 'My wife is delighted and I'm sure she will be taking me shopping! "She reminded that I had said many years ago that I would be [European] champion before I was 45 and now it's true."
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