Fernando Torres has rejected the suggestions of his Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, that his injuries have cost Liverpool their chance of winning the Premier League title this season.

The striker, who hopes to be fit to face Real Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield on Tuesday with Liverpool holding a one-goal advantage from the first leg, said: "I don't think that my injury should be considered as a reason for Liverpool not winning the league. Although following a couple of poor results we have lost touch with Manchester United at the top, the team has done well this season. The league though is still alive, but United are looking strong and they are not dropping points. [But] I don't think that I'm to blame for the injuries, it forms part of the game."

The Spain forward insisted his future on Merseyside was not dependent on Benítez remaining at the club.

"My future is tied with Liverpool, because I still have four years left to run on my contract," he said. "Therefore, should Rafa leave, I will stay on and fulfil my contract with the club. My wish is that Rafa extends his contract with Liverpool. I cannot think about how a possible departure might affect me, because it hasn't happened yet, and I don't like wasting time thinking about ifs and buts."

Liverpool's owners have suffered a blow in their efforts to sell the club to a Kuwaiti investment consortium. A spokesman said the £500m value put on the club by the co-chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett was too high and that negotiations were "going really badly".

Abdulla al-Sager, one of the possible investors in the consortium headed by the Al-Kharafi family, said: "Things are going really badly, because they are asking for too much. I don't think anything will happen unless we get a better price." The consortium is now likely to wait until July, when Hicks and Gillett will have to see if they can refinance Liverpool's £300m debts. The club have been in talks about a sale with another investment group in the Middle East and one in the US.