Rafael Benitez has dropped a hint about where his next managerial job could be and the rationale behind the 'problem' preventing him from accepting alternative offers.
The Spaniard has been out of football management since he was sacked from his post at Everton in January 2022. But he is still held in high esteem by the red half of Merseyside, after guiding Liverpool to their fifth European Cup triumph in 2005 before clinching the FA Cup a year later.
Having managed both clubs, Benitez was a guest pundit on Sky Sports' coverage of Newcastle United v Liverpool on Saturday evening and when asked after the 2-0 victory for Jurgen Klopp's men where his next job was coming from, the two-time LaLiga winner explained how location was crucial to the type of position he would be willing to accept.
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Benitez said: "I said so many times, it depends. You need a project. I was lucky enough to manage a lot of teams and of course I did that, won some trophies, and I can say now ‘I don’t like this project, I like this one.’ My problem is that I am fine and happy in England in terms of the Premier League, my family and everything, so sometimes you make decisions that are a risk, but the reality is that the Premier League is the best league now in the world and I want to be around Europe.
"I have things [offers] in China or South Korea or in Mexico, things like that, but you need a project with all the experience I have - my stats is quite good on these things - so we can build something. I was talking about projects, but a project now is three weeks, so it’s not three years. Three weeks and you are under pressure. We need some time and the right project."
Aside from Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle United, Benitez can name the likes of Chelsea, Valencia, Inter Milan, Napoli and Real Madrid amongst the 13 clubs he has managed since 1995.
But since moving to Merseyside to manage the Reds in 2004, his family put down roots in Caldy on the Wirral and have remained there ever since.
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