Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has revealed that ex-Reds striker Fernando Torres played an important role in the club signing Raheem Sterling as a schoolboy.

The 19-year-old joined the Merseyside club from Queens Park Rangers in 2010, and Benitez revealed that a chance meeting between Torres and Sterling in the Melwood physio room proved significant.

He told The People: "Fernando was there and I think Steven Gerrard, too. But definitely Fernando. I explained what Raheem and his mum were doing and I told Fernando what we thought of the young player we had brought in.

"He had a quick chat with him, asking how he was getting on. He was interested in him.

"Raheem was really pleased – and you could see his mum was, too – really impressed that the club's biggest players had made a fuss of him."

Sterling came on as a substitute in Liverpool's 1-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa on Saturday.