Liverpool finished second in the 2009 Premier League but, despite the expectation that they would be serious challengers once more, they finished seventh last season and Benitez was sacked.
Now at Inter Milan, Benitez has said it was the appointment of Purslow in June 2009 that changed matters at the club and he believes that was the deciding factor in the collapse.
"I prefer not to talk about this because I feel sorry for the fans," he said. "I was really sad for them and after the defeat the other day (against Everton).
"We have a saying in Spanish that says 'white liquid in a bottle has to be milk'. This means that, after 86 points and finishing second in the league, what changed? The Americans. They decide and choose a new managing director and everything changed.
"The managing director is involved in all the decisions. New lawyer, new chief of press, new manager, new nine players, new medical staff, new fitness coaches. They change everything, so they change managing director then we change everything that we were doing in the past.
"If you ask me what's going on it's simple - they changed some things and by the end they changed everything. White liquid in a bottle - milk. You know who to blame!"
Purslow remains at Liverpool and was a key figure in helping New England Sports Ventures (NESV) to secure the takeover against the wishes of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=833732&sec=england&cc=5739
