Rafa Benitez makes £600m Everton claim and Anthony Gordon behind-the-scenes admission

Rafa Benitez is adamant he could not make decisions he want to at Everton because of his Liverpool links.

Benitez was sacked as Goodison Park manager in January after just six-and-a-half months in the role.

The axe was wielded on the Spaniard following a dismal run of just one Premier League win in 13 games. A 2-1 loss against bottom-club Norwich City brought the end to his stint in the Toffees hot seat.

Benitez feels that being a former Liverpool boss - guiding Everton’s bitter rivals to Champions League glory in 2005 - impacted his ability to do things how he would have liked in his most recent role.

What’s been said

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “At the time Everton came in with the offer, I knew I would give my best and do everything to try to improve things,” he said. “I knew it could be difficult because I was at Liverpool, so maybe I couldn’t make some decisions. It was very clear for us at the beginning.

“I had a meeting with a head of one of the departments and I asked him: ‘Do you think everything is fine?’ He said: ‘Yeah, everything is perfect’.

“I thought: ‘£600m had been spent, it cannot be perfect when the owners aren’t happy and the fans are not happy’.

“So I realised we had to change things inside, but I couldn’t do it straight away because I was a former Red and it could be seen as: ‘Oh, he’s come in to change our club’.

“In another club, I would have made those decisions. I did it in the past, because you know very clearly that is the way to improve, but there at Everton I couldn’t do it.”

‘They said they weren’t sure’

One of the few positives that came from Benitez’s reign was the emergence of Anthony Gordon, who was wanted by Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United in the summer transfer window.

The forward enjoyed a breakthrough season last term, having had a disappointing loan spell at Preston in the second half of 2020-21.

Benitez has claimed that coaches in Everton’s academy and his assistant manager Francisco de Miguel Moreno were unsure about Gordon’s mentality.

But improving the academy product’s stamina was key.

Benitez added: “We played a friendly in Miami in pre-season and after 50 minutes, he couldn’t run.

“We knew he was a player with quality on the ball, could finish, pass and had pace. But he couldn’t run. We had a conversation with him after the game. It was hot, but he’s a young player.

“I was talking with the coaches in the academy and my assistant and they said they weren’t sure. They knew he had the talent but maybe it was his mentality.

“We spent time with him, but the main thing was to change his mentality and he was very keen to do it. He worked really hard, he improved his stamina and he got better and better because he had the potential.

“He has to improve some parts of his game, he knows that. But I’m really pleased to see him progressing because he’s a nice lad.”