Juventus have put together a
legal team to examine the prospect of prising Rafa Benitez away from his Liverpool contract.
The Telegraph says Juventus have instructed their lawyers to examine
Benítez's Liverpool contract as
the Italian side attempt to put together a package to tempt him to
Serve A in the summer.
Juventus's power brokers met
the club's lawyers on Tuesday to assess the likelihood of Benítez
being convinced to end his six-year reign at Anfield in the summer.
The club had considered attempting to lure Benítez to Italy this
month but believed the Spaniard would not contemplate leaving
Liverpool in the middle of the
season.
The Spaniard earns £4.8 million a year before tax under the
terms of his Liverpool contract,
agreed until 2014 after protracted negotiations just 10 months ago.
It is a salary Juventus would
not be able to match, though more relaxed tax laws would allow the
Italian side to offer Benítez a net salary of £2.5 million a
year.
The prospect of Benítez demanding his substantial coaching staff
accompany him to Italy presents a further obstacle, though
Juventus have been informed the
Spaniard would only wish to bring three or four key lieutenants
with him.
Juventus believe Benítez
would be willing to appoint an Italian assistant manager, an
important nod to the club's tradition and identified as a key
negotiating point when Jose
Mourinho joined Inter in 2008.
