Barcelona have no need or space for Torres with Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Bojan Krkic and new signing David Villa on their books. They need to offload Thierry Henry first too. Javier Mascherano has been linked with Barcelona for a couple of years now and with Yaya Toure on his way out, confirmed today by Barcelona President Joan Laporta, a midfield space has opened up. Steven Gerrard is not the type of player Barcelona would typically move for, especially when the likes of Pedro and Jeffren are slowly establishing themselves as first team players in the position he favours, a fluid attacking role just behind the main striker.
Internazionale will be linked with Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres but without a manager it is unclear if they will make a move. The Inter Milan President, Massimo Moratti, does seem in recent years to have abandoned the habit of buying players without the coaches consent. Should Benitez arrive in the San Siro as the Internazionale manager, he might try to tempt the President to sign the trio of players. After recent successes funds are likely to be available and there might be even more if the recent rumours connecting full back Maicon with Real Madrid turn out ot be accurate.
AC Milan, on the other side of the city, probably do not have the funds or the current stature to justify a move for any of the Liverpool players. Fernando Torres might re-invigorate the ageing AC Milan squad but he is unlikely to be tempted. Juventus, like Liverpool, have no Champions League football to offer. At the moment they are not an attractive proposition for a world class player.
Despite Bayern Munich reaching the Champions League final German football is still considered to be the weakest of the big four, English Italian Spanish and German, in Europe. A move there usually reflects a players weakening appeal. It is unlikely any major Liverpool player will be moving to Germany.
The last option is just that, the last option. Manchester City. The club with the money. There is no Champions League football but this is a club with huge promise and the ability to pay double what any other club can offer. A huge wage increase might tempt the players minds. All in all, Liverpool’s players are going to be linked with Europe’s major clubs for the entire summer. An exodus is on the cards.
