Albert - stressed out

Back in the good old days, all you had to do to ensure a swift exit from a top club was to trash your boss in an interview, then slowly stroll to the nearest airport, and buy a one-way ticket to Turkey. Not any more. Babel tried it, Nani had a go, but these modern managers - with their iPods and their internets - have softened up somewhat.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Albert Riera from having a decent crack at calling time of his rather flaccid Liverpool career. As reported on the popular Spanish sites, Marca and AS, and today’s Daily Mail, he said this:

“When you stop being important for the coach it has to be something personal. If I am doing things badly and you are my boss and you value me, you are going to tell me what I have to do to get back playing. That is what hurts me. It is a lack of tact.”

“It seems strange that being Spanish there should be a problem with communication.”

“I have been here two years and he has never sorted out a situation with a player by talking to him. He thinks that it is him in charge and he is deaf to everything else. The dialogue is practically zero.”

“This year has been difficult and he has changed nothing. When you see that the ship is sinking and you don’t change anything…”

Rafa will no doubt be totally seething about this. In silence.