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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Matt C Jones

'I soon realised' - Robbie Keane speaks out over why Liverpool career failed under Rafa Benitez

Former Liverpool forward Robbie Keane has said Rafael Benitez wanted to partner him and Fernando Torres in attack at Anfield.

The Reds signed the Irishman in the summer of 2008 from Tottenham Hotspur, at which point he was one of the most exciting and prolific forwards in the Premier League.

However, he struggled to show his best in Liverpool colours and eventually became a peripheral figure in Benitez's squad, with the manager preferring to use Torres as a loan striker instead.

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While that tactic did yield some success that season - Benitez's Liverpool pushed Manchester United all the way in the title race, although they eventually finished runners up - Keane turned out to be an expensive mistake for the Reds.

He rejoined Spurs after just half a season on Merseyside, with the London club landing him for a fee around £7 million less than what the Liverpool had paid a few months earlier.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Keane spoke with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher about his tough time with the Reds.

"When I spoke to the club and Rafa, the idea was for me and Torres to play together," he said. "But then I soon realised a few games in that wasn't the case.

"The year before Stevie [Gerrard] was playing in that 10 and him and Torres had an unbelievable partnership. And that's the way he wanted to continue. He liked that extra body in the midfield in the overloads."

Keane is the 16th-highest goalscorer in Premier League history with a total of 126 goals. He is also the highest-scoring Irishman in the competition since its formation, enjoying spells with Wolves, Coventry, Leeds United and Aston Villa as well as the Reds and Spurs.

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