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Benitez angry after Newcastle exit

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Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez is said to be “angry, upset and disappointed” after it was confirmed that he would leave the club when his contract expires on June 30, according to the Daily Mail. 

Newcastle released a statement on Monday that said the club had been unable to find agreement and that they would begin the process of finding a new manager.

However, according to the Mail report, Benitez didn’t know the statement was going out and only found out after it was released.

The Mail claims the last contact from Benitez had been an email that reiterated his demands for a new contract. He was also hoping for a new offer from Newcastle.

By way of balance, the report also claims from a club source that Benitez had stopped answering his phone last week.

VERDICT

Perhaps it was too much to expect that Benitez and Newcastle would part on amicable terms. It sounds like Benitez’s exit was almost inevitable though, with both sides seemingly having drawn lines in the sand they weren’t willing to budge from. Would it have been good for Newcastle to have informed Benitez that a statement was going out? Of course, but ultimately it wouldn’t have changed anything. If Benitez had stopped answering his phone, it sounds like the lines of communication were breaking down anyway, and Mike Ashley has his own way of doing things – he’s the big boss and ultimately makes all the decisions. However, the report also claims that Newcastle hadn’t started drawing up a shortlist of new managers until Monday night, so it also appears that the decision was a fairly spontaneous one. We know who the Newcastle fans will be supporting here and Benitez has done enough at St James’ Park to have earned the unequivocal support of the fans. But it does sound like compromise was lacking on both sides, with the Mail report claiming that even if a new offer had come from Newcastle, Benitez wasn’t expecting it to be enough. However it happened behind the scenes, though, it’s a massive loss for Newcastle and we doubt Ashley will find an equal as replacement. Benitez is one of the best managers in the world and will be looking for a job that befits his status. Ashley may be looking for one who will be more compliant – and any manager prepared to do that may not get the seal of approval from fans. 

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