Liverpool debts soar but chairman insists Gerrard and Torres won't be sold

Rafa Benitez and Liverpool are going to Hull tomorrow when in reality the club are going to hell.

Liverpool head into the final game of their car crash of a season in a total mess on and off the pitch.

Benitez’s future remains unclear as he mulls over whether to jump ship to Juventus or try and squeeze more transfer cash out of Reds chairman Martin Broughton.

Steven Gerrard and ­Fernando Torres could also go and Real Madrid want the unhappy Reds skipper while Chelsea and Manchester City are battling it out for the unsettled Spanish striker.

The club have missed out on the Champions League and are on course for their worst league finish in 11 years.

Oh, and yesterday they announced losses of £54.9million to push their debts to a staggering £351.4m and bring another warning from auditors KPMG about their ability “to continue as a going concern”.

The results for the 12 months up to July 31, 2009, also show that former chief executive Rick Parry received a cool £4m pay-off.

But the good news from the club is that sales of their new kit are going well.

Kopites need long ­memories to recall a time when this great club was in such a state.

Broughton, who has been brought in by reviled owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to oversee the club’s sale, tried yesterday to inject some calm with his best Corporal Jones “don’t panic impersonation.

The BA chairman insists Liverpool’s horrendous financial results do not mean that they have to cash in on Gerrard and Torres to reduce their debts and make the club more attractive to ­potential buyers.

“There is no reason to sell either of them,” said Broughton. “We don’t want to sell either of them. Rafa doesn’t want to sell them and the club are not looking to sell them. We don’t need to sell them to reduce the debt.

“I can understand the fans’ concerns. Torres is a great player and every club would love to have him. But we have him and we have no intention of selling him.”

Benitez’s situation is just as unclear, despite his agent Manuel Garcia Quilon’s claim that he is “more likely to remain in England” than go to Juventus.

Even if the Spaniard does decide Juve’s offer is not as enticing as it looked, he has major issues about carrying on at Anfield.

As ever with Benitez, it comes down to money and power – and he wants more of both.

Quilon said: “I can certainly say that the issue of investment is very ­important, because this team needs new signings.”

Broughton refused to go into detail about how Thursday’s first meeting with Benitez went and would only say that they had “a frank exchange of views”.

He could not give Benitez the answers he wanted about how much cash he will have in the summer to rebuild Liverpool’s squad should he stay.

“No Premier League chairman would answer that,” said Broughton.