"He has contributed a lot since he joined us, but I spoke to him at the end of the season and we agreed if a good Spanish club was interested in him he could talk to them," said Benitez.
"Since he joined us he has been a good professional and helped the team a lot. He has played mainly as a second striker since he joined, which is a difficult position and you must do a lot of hard work to create a lot of space for other forwards.
"If you speak to the other strikers, they will all tell you how they liked working alongside him. Fernando always tried hard in this position and maybe he didn't always get the credit he deserved for his work.
"He joined Liverpool at an important time and played a key role to us. He's helped a lot of the other players with his attitude and professionalism.
"He joined us as a big star, but his attitude was always good. Maybe he's had a bit more of a problem than some of the others such as Luis, Xabi and Pepe in adjusting to England and I know he was also thinking about his family."