Rafael Benitez Confirms Napoli Exit, Expected To Join Real Madrid

Rafael Benitez has announced his decision to quit Napoli as rumours of him succeeding Ancelotti at Real Madrid are getting stronger by the day.

After spending 2 years at the club, Rafael Benitez will bid adieu to Napoli after the last game of the season on Sunday. In his 2 years at the club, Benitez won the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup. This season, the Spaniard led the Italian club to the Europa League semi-final, only to lose to Dnipro, and is about to help the club reach the Champions League qualifiers with one more game to go.

Beniteza s announcement comes as no shock as he has been-tipped to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid after the Italian was sacked by the club on Monday. It is expected that a Los Blancosa will unveil the former Liverpool manager sometime next week.

Rafael Benitez, who was in charge of the Spanish cluba s youth setup in the 1990s, announced his departure at a news conference with Napolia s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, on Thursday.

Benitez said: “It’s always sad to leave a place where people treat you well.

“I want to thank the club, its president and the fans for what you have done for me. I want to say goodbye to this club and I want to end my cycle here with a victory and a place in the qualifying round of the Champions League.”

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The Spaniard said that the distance from his family was one of the main reasons for him to make this decision.

“The first thing is the distance from my family,” the 55-year-old said. “A few weeks ago I spoke to my wife to try to convince her, but then I told (Napoli president) Aurelio (De Laurentiis) that it would not have been an easy task,

“He had to look ahead and so did I, we will try to win until the end.”

Rafael Benitez is famous for winning La Liga twice with Valencia and the Champions League with Liverpool among various other trophies.