Valencia bid to keep Benitez

Last updated : 28 May 2004 By Chris Maxwell
The 44-year-old's contract expires at the end of next season and officials at the Mestella are desperate to retain his services for a fresh assault on the Champions League crown that has twice eluded them in the final.

The talks, however, look unlikely to quell the growing speculation linking Benitez with the Anfield hotseat recently vacated by Gerard Houllier.

"We spoke to the director but there is nothing to say," agent Manuel Garcia Quilon said.

"We have neither advanced nor backed down. Now it is up to Benitez."