Atletico Madrid are not admitting defeat in their efforts to prevent captain Fernando Torres from joining Liverpool. Bodog.com has made Liverpool +450 odds to win the English Premiership.
The Madrid side appeared to be resigned to losing Fernando Torres when it emerged that they were in the market for a replacement striker and had a £17million bid for Villareal's Diego Forlan turned down.
But the club's president Enrique Cerezo last night denied any contact had been made between Atletico and Liverpool, who are lining up a bid to secure the 23-year-old.
"We've received no offer from Liverpool or any other club or player," he said. "There is nothing linking Torres with any team. He's on holidays, he's resting and he'll return to work on July 9."
Cerezo's stance backs the initial line taken by Atletico last week when Fernando Torres was first revealed as one of Rafael Benitez's top targets and they insisted he was not for sale.
And Liverpool's initial hopes of netting the Spanish international for £16m were then quashed by Madrid's insistence that the £27m release clause would have to be activated before they would consider offers for him.
That would almost double Liverpool's record transfer layout on one player, which was Djibril Cisse in 2004.
Cisse's status could also hold the key to Liverpool's next move for Torres, as Bolton and Marseille remain in contention to buy the striker, who Benitez will not consider loaning out for another season.
A fee in the region of £7-8m for the Frenchman would help finance a new club record bid for Torres, who only has two years left to run on his current contract.
Bodog.com has posted European Football betting odds to win the English Premiership 2007/2008:
Manchester United: +150
Chelsea FC: +150
Liverpool FC: +450
Arsenal FC: +800
Any other Team: +5000
