"Stevie's patience has snapped with Benitez and Rick Parry and it's civil war now," said a friend of Gerrard's.
"If they had wanted to sort this out, it could have been done in two hours, yet we have got nowhere and Stevie doesn't know why they're not prepared to sit down properly.
"Now he's stopped talking and even if Liverpool come back and say they want to re-open negotiations, he will tell them where they can stick it."
According to the paper:
Benitez told friends: "I don't know what is going on. I'm being accused of orchestrating a campaign to get rid of Stevie but I've done nothing at all. I want him to stay."
Gerrard, though, no longer trusts Benitez, believing he has been taken for granted by the club since his public vow in the aftermath of the May 25 night of glory that he would stay at Liverpool.
Their relationship has broken down, seemingly irretrievably, to the point where they are no longer talking after Saturday's bust-up.
And now Gerrard's decision to kill off the talks leaves Liverpool with little option but to invite Real and Chelsea to lodge their initial bids.
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