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Rafa Benitez has had no new contract offer from Newcastle United this season – The Times

5 years ago
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When Newcastle United meet Wolves on Monday, Rafa Benitez will be less than 13 weeks away from taking charge of his last NUFC match.

That is of course unless anything changes with regard to the Spaniard’s contract position.

Having initially agreed a short-team deal to try and save Newcastle from relegation when arriving at St James Park in Marc 2016.

Rafa Benitez then decided to commit to a three year deal, despite starting that new contract with the team in the Championship.

The much decorated manager declaring that he could see the long-term potential of Newcastle United, if everything was done right.

Following the initial summer 2016 transfer window, it has been a case of Benitez being consistently undermined by Mike Ashley.

Following the signing of Miguel Almiron, it still looks too little too late, unless Rafa can be convinced there is going to be proper ambition shown, or Ashley sells the club.

There have been ongoing claims of new contract offers and enticements being put to Rafa Benitez throughout this season, including various media claiming in recent days that a new three year deal has now been put to the former Real Madrid and Liverpool boss.

However, The Times have revealed that this is untrue.

In an excellent article summing up exactly where Rafa Benitez and Newcastle United (plus of course especially the fans) are at this moment in time, under Mike Ashley, George Caulkin has brought us up to date with the situation regarding Rafa and contracts.

George says that no new contract offers have been made at all during this current season, currently scheduled to be Rafa’s last.

However, he adds that two offers were made last summer, one of a five year deal, then another of a one year deal.

Rafa Benitez refused to sign either, although the man from The Times says that the one year offer is still on the table as far as the club/Mike Ashley are concerned.

George Caulkin summing up in The Times how things stood in summer 2018 and the ‘insanity’ of the Mike Ashley position:

‘Benítez wanted evidence that the club would “do things right,” meaning investment in the team, training ground and academy. They wanted his commitment before they spent. Why sign players the next manager might not want?

‘That negotiating stance was insanity; gambling with your own relegation when, at the end of it all, Benítez could walk away.

In the meantime, hopes for a takeover have dissipated, meaning that Ashley cannot disengage.

There will be some big decisions, some big moments ahead and if they really want Benítez to stay then what happened last week (Miguel Almiron signing) can only be the start.

‘It is not sufficient to say, “okay, you’ve got the player you really wanted, now it’s over to you”.’

The article also reveals that Newcastle United’s squad will fly off to Spain for some training in a warmer climate with the usual early exit from the FA Cup facilitating this time away.

This is to help prepare for a key relegation match at home to Huddersfield, a game that Newcastle almost certainly need to win, if they are to comfortably avoid the drop.

As George Caulkin says…’this is not the stuff of glory. They should be more than this.’

Newcastle fans very much doubt whether the club can be ‘more than this’ unless Mike Ashley finally puts the club up at a market price so it can sell, these past 12 years tell us that overall, things are very very unlikely to change, certainly not enough to convince Rafa Benitez to sign any kind of long-term contract.

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