JANUARY 14
Morientes relishes Liverpool role

BBC Sport Online

Liverpool's £6.3m new boy Fernando Morientes admitted Anfield's Spanish connection played a massive part in luring him from Real Madrid.

Morientes became Rafael Benitez's fifth signing from Spain since he succeeded Gerard Houllier in the summer.

And striker Morientes said: "It was very important. I knew Benitez from his time at Real and spent a year in Madrid with Antonio Nunez.

"But I was also attracted by the history of Liverpool as a famous club."

Morientes is likely to be thrust into an instant debut against Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday.

He added: "I have come here ready for any challenge. I have not played regularly, but when you come to a place and feel the excitement and desire that I feel, that can help you through any problems of not playing for a while.

"I am really looking forward to stepping on to the field with my team-mates and showing what I can do. I don't set goalscoring targets, I just want to help Liverpool win matches.

"As soon as Liverpool's offer was put in front of me, I wanted to come here.

"I had eight unforgettable years at Real, but I was not playing regularly and sometimes this happens in football.

"It was a key decision I had to make, but it was also a well-thought out one."

Morientes added: "What really attracted me originally was playing in the Premier League and everyone knows Liverpool throughout the world of football.

"I'm happy here. It is a place I want to be and I'm keen and excited to take up the challenge."

Benitez said: "He is a very good player with a very good mentality. The most important thing is that he has a good mentality and is good professional.

"When he was asked about how many goals he wanted to score, he talked about the team - this is what I look for."

JANUARY 13
Morientes officially completes Liverpool switch

By James Carroll - Shankly Gates

Fernando Morientes has officially completed his £6.3m move from Real Madrid. The Spanish international has completed a medical and put pen-to-paper on a three-and-a-half year contract at Anfield.

Morientes flew into Merseyside late last night after Liverpool agreed a fee with Real after weeks of negotiations. It's thought that the Reds will pay £5.5m up-front, with the fee rising to £6.3m depending on future appearances and achievements.

The club confirmed this afternoon: "Fernando Morientes is now officially a Liverpool player and will be unveiled at a press conference on Friday."

Morientes is expected to go straight into the Liverpool squad for Saturday's lunchtime encounter with Manchester United at Anfield.

JANUARY 12
Morientes frozen out by galacticos

By Simon Baskett - Reuters

Striker Fernando Morientes joins Liverpool after becoming the biggest victim of Real Madrid's belief that going "galactico" would guarantee success.

A proven goalscorer at the highest level for club and country, Morientes has been off-loaded by Real because he lacks the cachet of team mates Ronaldo, Raul and Michael Owen.

Morientes was the Champions League's top scorer last season on loan at Monaco, his nine goals powering the Ligue 1 club to their first European Cup final.

For Real, this was still not good enough. The Spanish giants bought Owen three months later and relegated Morientes to fourth choice at the Bernabeu.

It is not the first time Morientes, moving to Liverpool for nine million euros ($11.8 million), has lost out in a roller-coaster career which started as a 17-year-old at unfashionable Albacete.

He signed for Real Zaragoza in 1995, scoring 28 goals in two seasons before being snapped up by Real for a reported fee of 6.6 million euros ($8.6 million).

Morientes was one of a raft of players joining from middle-ranking sides as Real cherry-picked the best players in the Primera Liga and offered them lucrative long-term deals.

Renowned for his prowess in the air, the powerful centre-forward was an important part of the team that won the 1998 European Cup, allowing the club to regain its status as the best on the continent after a 32-year wait.

Forming a lethal partnership with close friend Raul, Morientes picked up two more European Cup winners medals in 2000 and 2002 and helped Real to league titles in 2001 and 2003.

However, just after finishing the season as Real's top scorer in the league with 18 goals, he fell victim to club president Florentino Perez's policy of recruiting the best players in the world.

Perez tried to use Morientes as a bargaining counter in the deal to sign Ronaldo in August 2002, first as part exchange for Brazil's World Cup winner and then by selling him to Barcelona.

Although Ronaldo arrived, Morientes ended up staying and watched most of the season from the dugout. After losing his place in the national side, Morientes had little choice but to move.

He finally took up the loan offer to join Monaco for the season, with Real agreeing to pay about two-thirds of his 4.5 million euro salary.

Under Didier Deschamps, Morientes became a more rounded player and in a delicious piece of irony he helped eliminate Real from a competition they had come to see as their own.

His late strike in a 4-2 first leg win at the Bernabeu was crucial and he scored again in a 3-1 home defeat which put Monaco through on the away goals rule.

His performances won him a return to the Spain squad for Euro 2004 and he has since taken his tally of international goals to 25 in 38 games, a better strike rate than all-time top scorer Raul.

This season, despite early optimism and a run of three managers, the 28-year-old ended up in his familiar seat on the Real bench, mostly waiting for a Spanish coach to give him a chance.

Now he has been given it, by Liverpool's Rafael Benitez.

JANUARY 12
Factfile: Fernando Morientes

1976: Born April 5, Caceres, Spain

1993: Made his debut for Albacete

1995: Moved to Real Zaragoza, where he scored 30 goals in two seasons Played FIFA World Under-20 Championship alongside future Real Madrid team-mate Raul

1997: Transferred to Real Madrid

1998: March - Scores twice in the first five minutes of his senior international debut against Sweden

May 20 - Plays in 1-0 Champions League final victory over Juventus in Amsterdam. Scores two goals for Spain in the World Cup in France

2000: May 24 - Scores the opening goal as Real win the Champions League again with a 3-0 victory over Valencia in Paris Left out of Spain's European Championships squad

2001: Wins first Primera Liga title with Real

2002: Plays in the Champions League final 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen Scores four times for Spain in the World Cup in Japan and Korea

2003: Wins second Primera Liga title with Real

August 31 - Agrees season-long loan with Monaco

2004: May 26 - Loses Champions League final 3-0 to Porto but finishes the competition's leading scorer with nine goals Scores in the 1-1 draw with eventual Euro 2004 winners Greece - one of only two goals managed by Spain before their early exit from the European Championships in Portugal

2005: January 12: Madrid accept a £6.3million offer from Liverpool for Morientes

JANUARY 12
Morientes wants United debut

ITV Football

Fernando Morientes is hoping to pass his medical and be registered in time to make his Liverpool debut against Manchester United on Saturday.

The Spanish international will arrive at Anfield on Wednesday night to complete the formalities after the Reds agreed a £6.3million fee with Real

At a press conference at Real's Las Rozas training ground, Morientes spoke of his delight, and admitted he would relish the chance to make his debut for the Reds against rivals United at Anfield.

"Going to Liverpool was a decision my family and I thought about a lot," he said. "I want to play and I had several offers, but I think the best for me and my family was Liverpool's.

"Now all I can do is hope that the medical goes well and I am registered in time to play. You can't ask for more than a debut against Manchester United. It would be a great debut for me and even better if the team wins."

Morientes revealed he had turned down a late offer from French champions Lyon to move to the Premiership.

He added: "I am grateful the club have accepted my wishes to go to Liverpool rather than other better offers they could have had.

"All I can say is thanks to all the clubs who were interested. One of them was Lyon, but when their offer came in I had given my word to Liverpool.

"The Lyon offer came later and I had made my decision. I wanted to go to England."

Liverpool confirmed on their website: "A fee has been agreed with Real Madrid for the transfer of striker Fernando Morientes.

"Personal terms must now be agreed with the player and a medical arranged before the deal is completed."

Thor Zakariassen ©