Liverpool boss Rafael Benítez today said he was “really sorry” for Djibril Cisse, who is out of the World Cup and all other football for the rest of the year. At the same time Rafa also admitted for the first time that Djibs had been about to leave the club.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Rafa said, “There are two issues here – firstly, from the players point of view, I’m really sorry for Djibril. That’s important. It’s really unfortunate for him.”
The second point of view though is that plans to sell Cisse and use the money towards some of the other signings are now on hold, at least until January if not on a more permanent basis: “It’s true it’s now impossible for him to be sold. We were expecting to sell him to Marseille or Lyon and planned using the money for other players. We were talking to both clubs. Now we won’t have this money. We won’t expect him to play again until November or December.”
Rafa was asked if the fact Djibs had been all set to leave will have an impact once he does return to fitness, but the boss said this wouldn’t happen, because everything was agreed and dealt with professionally: “It was a professional decision and we were honest with Djibril. There will be no problem when he comes back.”
The Echo also tell us that Rafa is hoping to sign Seville’s Daniel Alves “imminently” and also Dirk Kuyt. In addition to those two Rafa had, according to the Echo (and other sources), got his eye on Darren Bent or Craig Bellamy.