Is Rafael Benitez's Liverpool Dynasty About To Be Dismantled?

Rafael Benitez has allegedly been in discussions with Juventus. It seems the Italian giants, who are having an even worse season than Liverpool, may offer Benitez a dignified exit from what is fast becoming his Anfield nightmare.

Benitez will always be fondly remembered on Merseyside for winning the Champions League in 2005 and reaching another Champions League final two years later. In the absence of a legitimate Premier League challenge, he has been living off this Champions League win ever since and patience amongst Liverpool supporters is wearing thin.

Liverpool remain the most successful club in the history of English football, but if the major trophies continue to elude them, it is a mantle they are unlikely to retain for too much longer.

The club is in disarray off the pitch with owners George Gillet and Tom Hicks at odds with each other, and the sort of preseason investment the fans would like to see is unlikely to materialize.

At the slightest suggestion of a title challenge, last year, Benitez was offered a lucrative long-term contract which he signed. Financial constraints mean that it is unlikely he will be fired but Juventus might be about to offer him the opportunity to bow out gracefully after five years at the helm.

He would be leaving what could well be construed as a sinking ship. That Liverpool are in disarray can be in no doubt. They failed to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, or in all probability, finish in the the top four, the absolute minimum requirements for the team in the current era.

The lack of Champions League football is likely to have a detrimental effect on the transfer budget ahead of the next campaign and may also be a strong incentive for certain players to leave the club. Benitez has already persuaded Gerrard to stay once, if Real Madrid come-a-calling this Summer, he may find his captain unable to reject the Spanish sides advances as he did those of Chelsea in 2005.

Fernando Torres, the other jewel in the Liverpool crown, cannot be relishing the prospect of a season outside of the Champions League. A big-money bid for the Spaniard from Man City seems almost inevitable and there is a strong possibility Liverpool will be forced to part with at least one of these two players in the very near future.

Liverpool's problem in recent seasons has been their utter dependence on Torres and Gerrard. When both are fit, the team looks like title contenders, but when either man is missing, Liverpool look distinctly average. Even if one, or both, of them is sold for a small fortune, it will be difficult to find players who can actually improve the team in their absence.

If Benitez goes now he will leave behind fond memories of Liverpool's almost unprecedented Champions League comeback in 2005. If he stays more and more attention is going to focus on the fact that he has won nothing since, except for an FA Cup and the lightly regarded European Super Cup in 2005/06.

Winning the UEFA Cup this year would go some way towards answering his critics, but it would also be the perfect way for him to bow out. A five-year spell at the club with a major European trophy at either end of it would, to the casual observer, appear a tidy one.

If he remains at the helm, he will be forced to deal with the reality that any UEFA Cup success came as a direct byproduct of Champions League failure, something that the club's failure to qualify for the competition next year means he will be unable to immediately rectify.

Liverpool also appear to be moving further and further away from Premiership contention and are in danger of being overtaken by both Tottenham Hotspur and Man City.

In these circumstances, Juventus must be starting to look like a very attractive option for Benitez. It could be the final opportunity for him to walk away from Liverpool with his head held high, particularly if he could do it with another European trophy under his belt. His prospects at Liverpool look bleak and it is time for Benitez to try his luck in another European league.