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LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez on Friday rejected suggestions he had played any role in recent failed attempts to prise Gareth Barry away from Aston Villa.
Benitez told a news conference all recent transfer talks regarding the 27-year-old England midfielder were handled by Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry and the club's owners.
"I will try to be very clear...everybody has been talking and it is clear some newspapers and journalists... blame me for everything -- global warming, rises in petrol prices, everything," said an exasperated Benitez.
"Since I talked with (manager) Martin O'Neill in April, I didn't talk with anyone else at Aston Villa. All the talks have been between Rick Parry and the owner and chief executive of Aston Villa -- and they have been pretty good."
"If someone wants to talk about Barry in the future, they will have to talk to the owner or chief executive of Aston Villa, or Rick Parry.
"I was not doing the talks about Barry, I was not doing the talks about (Xabi) Alonso and Arsenal," Benitez said referring to Liverpool's Spain midfielder who has been linked with a move to the Merseyside club's Premier League rivals.
"If you want to talk about players, you have to talk to Rick Parry; if you want to talk about football, talk to me."
TOO HIGH
Parry said last week that the price Villa had demanded for Barry was too high but added that Liverpool's American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks were backing Benitez.
"There has been a lot of comment regarding our position with regards to Gareth Barry," Parry had said in a statement on the club's official website (www.liverpoolfc.tv). "This is not about questioning the manager's judgment or the ability of a particular player. The owners have clearly demonstrated throughout the year they are willing to back Rafa in the transfer market and will continue to do so.
"It is obviously the selling club's prerogative to put whatever price they want on the player, but on this occasion Liverpool thinks the price quoted is too high."
The club last month bought Ireland captain Robbie Keane from Tottenham Hotspur for 20.3 million pounds ($38.01 million) but baulked at paying another large fee -- which British newspapers reported would be at least 18 million pounds -- for Barry.
Villa ended any chance of Barry playing for Liverpool in Europe this year when he played and scored in Thursday's 4-1 UEFA Cup qualifying round win over Iceland's Hafnarfjordur.
