Tony Cascarino shared his surprise over a report that claimed Rafa Benitez could be sacked if the mooted takeover of Newcastle United happens.
The pundit was told about the Daily Mirror reporting that billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Abu Dhabi-based group have their own managerial targets, in the form of Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, and didn’t seem impressed.
Cascarino shared that Magpies supporters would be happy about their club being taken over but wouldn’t be content if it meant life without Benitez.
“That would be a surprise to Newcastle fans as they’ll be ‘our club has been bought out, great, and we can move on and invest in the team’, but I’m not convinced they’ll be happy if they thought there would be a life at Newcastle without Rafa,” said Cascarino on talkSPORT (8:20am, Sunday June 2nd).
OPINION
The Mirror’s report claims that when they pointed out to Sheikh Khaled’s representatives that securing Benitez’s future would see them have to act swiftly, as his current deal is set to expire, that they were told there were other options being considered. While it sounds scary on paper that Benitez could be “sacked” as the Mirror puts it; they may be jumping the gun on this occasion. The Bin Zayed Group are surely going to have back-up options written down if Benitez opts to leave upon his contract expiring, as that is smart business. The representatives didn’t exactly say they weren’t going to keep Benitez and you feel the group, who have likely done their research on the club, will know how important it is to keep Benitez at St James Park. Also it seems silly that the Mirror claim Benitez could face the sack as if Sheikh Khaled has no interest in the Spanish manager, why would he potentially give him a contract to be at the club next season. If they’re not keen, Benitez will simply walk at the end of his current deal rather than be sacked.