Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez says he's been restricted in what he has been allowed to do at Anfield during his tenure.

The former Valencia manager feels he has not had as much control as he would have liked.

"Does the manager have absolute power in England?" he told the Mirror.

"No, it depends on a budget and on the executive director that negotiates the signings of players. And it depends on the money you have and the intelligence with which you operate in the market place.

"Look at the wages picked up by the players on Chelsea or Manchester United's substitutes' bench: (John) Obi Mikel, (Michael) Owen, (Salomon) Kalou, (Dimitar) Berbatov, (Michael) Carrick could be on £4million a year!

"When Portsmouth offered Peter Crouch more money than we were paying him and promised him a starting place, it became very complicated for us to keep hold of him. The arrival of Fernando Torres meant he couldn't play as often at Liverpool."