Sunday, 7th September, 2014
Agent Manuel Garcia Quilon has claimed that his client, Napoli manager Rafael Benitez, was twice offered the chance to take the reins at Real Madrid during his Liverpool tenure.
Benitez managed the Reds for six years, during which his men lifted both the Champions League and the FA Cup.
Quilon however has revealed that the Galaticos spared no effort during this time to recruit the Spaniard as their new manager, with even Real Madrid's president Florentino Perez taking time to speak to the 54-year-old personally.
"Rafael had the opportunity to manage Real Madrid for two consecutive years", the agent told Calio Napoli 24.
"That was five years ago and one year before that we received a very interesting offer. In order to have the offer accepted, Florentino Perez got onto his private jet personally and flew to England."
Perez' endeavours remained fruitless though, with Benitez having signed a new contract with Liverpool and sticking to his guns despite the financial incentives put in front of him.
"[Perez] tried to convince – without success – Rafael's wife Montse in order to push her husband into his new adventure", Quilon explained.
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"But Rafael had just extended his contract with Liverpool and he is a man of his word. He declined the offer, even though it had been the best offer he had ever had from an economic and sporting point of view."
Benitez remained at Liverpool until 2010, before moving to Italian side Inter for an unsuccessful six-month stint. He has been in charge of Napoli since 2013, leading the team to victory in the Coppa Italia during his first season in charge.
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