Rafa Benitez has stated that his intention is to return to management in England, effectively ruling himself out of contention for the Celtic Park vacancy. The Spaniard has had success at a number of clubs and was one of the favourites to take over the managerial vacancy at Celtic Park back in May 2019. However, Celtic decided to appoint Neil Lennon after the interim boss clinched the Treble Treble following Brendan Rodgers’ departure.
As reported by The Times, Benitez has said that he wants to find himself a job in the Premier League. The ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid manager is currently unattached after leaving China in the summer and signalled his intention to find a new job as soon as possible.
“A competitive team that allows you to challenge for trophies or a project that allows you to improve and grow and do better.
“The priority is England. Why? Because obviously I like the Premier League and my family is here.
“I have a lot of offers from the Emirates, United States, Brazil and China, but I want to stay in Europe. And I want to stay in England.
“If it’s the right one, we can do it tomorrow, but the project, the competitive team, is not there at the moment, so we have to wait. But I don’t want to stay without working.
“I want to be on the pitch as soon as possible.”
Benitez has won league titles in Spain, the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool as well as a number of other trophies. He would have been an ideal candidate but had he not had a hiatus in the money spinning Chinese league he may have been more willing to come to Celtic. His former club Newcastle will likely be appointing a new boss in the summer with Steve Bruce under pressure but Crystal Palace offer another potential opportunity for Benitez should Roy Hodgson leave in the summer.
