Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has given his controversial verdict on Rafa Benitez’s exit from the club.
Speaking on Sky Sports, as reported by the Chronicle, Neville admits that there’s something that doesn’t quite sit right with him when looking at Benitez’s departure.
I thought the second that it would’ve got tough or he got an offer from another club, he would’ve gone. I think he played the game in the media all the time.
Despite quickly taking up an offer from China, Benitez has remained a firm favourite with Newcastle fans.
Read Newcastle verdict
Benitez is still highly thought of at St James’ and that is great to see after everything he did for the club.
The Spaniard would not have been blamed if he had walked before the end of last season and during his spell in charge of the club, he exceeded expectations and gave supporters a lot of fond memories to look back on.
The only element of criticism that you could possibly point towards Benitez is how quickly he took a job in the Chinese Super League and how that reflects on his departure.
For a Champions League-winning manager, European job offers wouldn’t have been far away.
His frustrations in the transfer market at Newcastle were well documented, so to cite the club’s lack of ambition was probably fair. However, to then go and take a big-money job in the Chinese Super League could, on face value, appear slightly contradictive.
It’s unclear as to whether or not Neville is alluding to the move to China or maybe this is something he has seen coming for a while. Either way, it is unlikely to sit well with Newcastle supporters.
