Rafael Benitez has refused to talk about the rumours surrounding Xabi Alonso's Liverpool future.
The Reds manager, speaking in Bangkok as part of the club's pre-season tour of Asia, was asked repeatedly about whether or not the player would be wearing the white of Real Madrid come the end of the transfer window following months of intense speculation. But the Spaniard issued a firm statement about Alonso as well as other players linked with a move away from Anfield this summer, including Javier Mascherano and defender Andrea Dossena.
"He is here with us and he will be available for the games," said Benitez.
"The Spanish players and Dossena and Mascherano arrived back late because of the Confederations Cup and internationals, so they will probably not play as much as the other players."
The manager turned his attention to talking about the club's pre-season schedule and reflected on yesterday's 1-0 defeat to Rapid Vienna.
"For us this is a really important stage of the season," he admitted.
"Everything we do during pre-season is about planning for the first game. We will continue to prepare the players well this week and look to play well in the games.
"It was disappointing to lose in Vienna because you always want to win games, but there were lots of positives to take from the game. Hopefully we can keep working well, and keep working hard, over here."
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