In 2009, then Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez rejected the chance to manage Real Madrid, Florentino Perez has revealed.
Real Madrid president Perez says that he offered the Spaniard the chance to manage Los Blancos, but Benitez turned down the offer in order to stay at Anfield.
Benitez took over at the Bernabeu this summer, and Perez spoke out about his previous attempt to get the man he now laments as “the best for Madrid”.
Perez, 68, is currently in his second spell as the club’s president after first resigning in 2006.
When he came to power again in 2009, he immediately set his sights on Rafa.
“I thought of him in 2009 and offered him the job,” he said, as quoted in the Liverpool Echo.
But his attempt to bring him back to Spain failed, Perez admitted:
The circumstances didn’t allow it because he had renewed with Liverpool and couldn’t leave them. Benitez is Spanish, a Madridista.
“Rafa Benitez is the best for Madrid at this time.
“He knows the culture, the values, and is from this house.”
Benitez rejected the job in 2009 and ultimately left the club in June 2010 by mutual consent after a poor run of games that saw Liverpool finish in their lowest league position (7th) since the 1998-99 season.
The Spaniard’s time as Liverpool gaffer was, on the whole, successful.
In his six years on Merseyside, the 55-year old won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FA Cup and Community Shield.
He also helped the Reds to their joint-highest Premier League finish in 2009, coming second and only missing out on the title by four points.
