MILAN — Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez lashed out at Liverpool's ousted owners and current managing director Christian Purslow on Tuesday.
Benitez left the English club after six seasons for Inter Milan this summer, and Liverpool was off to its worst ever start in the Premier League.
"The only thing I can say is that I'm sorry for the fans," Benitez said when he was asked about his former club by English reporters at a Champions League news conference ahead of Inter's match against Tottenham on Wednesday.
Last week, New England Sports Ventures completed a 300-million pound ($476-million) takeover of Liverpool from previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.
Benitez watched his former club's 2-0 loss to local rival Everton on Sunday, which left the club one spot from the bottom of the Premier League table.
"I prefer not to talk about this because I feel really sorry for the fans," Benitez said. "I was watching the fans and I was really sad after the defeat the other day. We have a saying in Spanish, which is: 'White liquid in a bottle has to be milk.'
"What does this mean? It means that after 86 points and finishing second in the league, what changed? The Americans, they chose a new managing director and everything changed," Benitez said.
He cited Purslow's appointment in the summer of 2009 as the beginning of a downward spiral that ended in the Spaniard's exit.
