Rafa wanted to keep Crouch

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has revealed that he had no intentions of selling Peter Crouch, but the forward wanted to join Portsmouth and he could not stop the frontman.

"It was a pity to lose him," said Benitez. "We offered him a new contract, but at the end of the day he decided to go to another club where he can play every week.

"That is something that you can understand because at a top side like Liverpool it can be difficult for this to happen, especially when you have a player like Torres who is on fire.

"It was difficult for Peter to play here every week, but he is a nice lad, a good professional and we wish him the best in the future."