Reds admit Klinsi talks

Chairman Tom Hicks admitted they had sounded out former Germany boss Klinsmann, who has since been appointed as Bayern Munich boss from next season, but said they had now given Benitez their full backing after a meeting with the Spaniard.

"In November, when it appeared we were in danger of not advancing in the Champions League, weren't playing well in our Premier League matches, and Rafa and we were having communication issues over the January transfer window, George and I met with Juergen Klinsmann to learn as much as we could about English and European football," Hicks told the Liverpool Echo.

"We attempted to negotiate an option, as an insurance policy, to have him become our manager in the event Rafa decided to leave our club for Real Madrid or other clubs that were rumoured in the UK press, or in case our communication spiralled out of control for some reason.

"After George and I had our long and productive meeting with Rafa following the Man United match, we put all of our issues behind us and received Rafa's commitment that he wanted to stay with Liverpool...Rafa has both of our support, and our communication has greatly improved."