Torres is a huge favourite with the Liverpool fans

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has warned Manchester City that they have little chance of luring striker Fernando Torres away from Anfield.

City boss Roberto Mancini admitted he would be keen to sign the 26-year-old Spanish star if he became available.

Mancini said: "We are a top team and all top teams are interested in him."

Benitez responded by telling BBC Radio 5 live: "Fernando is happy at Liverpool and he wants to stay for a lot of years so I don't see any problem."

Torres is out for the rest of the season following knee surgery but is hoping to return in time to play for Spain in this summer's World Cup.

606: DEBATE Liverpool will get the players Torres is looking for once the inevitable investment is made available to the manager temporarynamechange

At the end of March, he dismissed rumours that he might be looking to leave Liverpool but underlined how important it will be for Benitez to be able to strengthen his squad after a season in which Liverpool have failed to mount a title challenge and were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages.

Torres has scored 72 goals in 116 games for Liverpool since joining them from Atletico Madrid for a fee of around £20m in July 2007 and is idolised by Reds fans, but he has not won any major honours during his time at Anfield.

Like Benitez, Torres is under contract until 2014, but both of their futures have come under scrutiny because of the uncertainty over the club's financial strength while owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett try to sell up.

But Benitez says he is more concerned about his star striker's fitness than stories linking him with a move elsewhere.

The Reds boss added: "I think that Fernando will be OK and the main thing for him now is to recover and be ready for the World Cup.

"He has said from the start that he is very happy at Anfield, so hopefully he will be OK and can score a lot of goals for the club in the future."

City have been linked with Torres for several months and, although Mancini insists he has not thought about making a move for him, he mentioned the Spaniard as a potential target for the first time on Thursday at a press conference ahead of his side's trip to Arsenal on Saturday.

Fernando Torres is a fantastic striker but all the teams in Europe are interested in him Man City boss Roberto Mancini

Mancini accepts City will face competition if they do make a bid for Torres, and thinks they will need to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League to have any chance of bringing him to Eastlands.

"Fernando Torres is a fantastic striker," Mancini said. "But all the teams in Europe are interested in him.

"We must get the rest of the matches out of the way first, then we will decide about other players.

"All the top players want to play in the Champions League. Next year we want to be a team who wins the Premier League. To do that we need top players."

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