Benitez: I took a job at Everton because of my love for the city
Rafa Benitez has revealed that he has taken on the responsibility of becoming Everton’s coach due to his “affection for the city”.
The Spaniard was sacked by the Blues in January after a bad streak so he slowly watched as the team dragged on into a relegation battle despite a promising start to the season.
Benitez’s appointment was questioned by many fans when it was first announced due to his past connections to Liverpool, and the 62-year-old has now explained why he accepted the job offer in the first place.
“I took Everton because I had a lot of friends from the Blues who wanted an experienced coach to fix a lot of the things they knew weren’t and aren’t there,” he told Marca.
“Liverpool fans understand that it was a professional and personal decision because of my affection for the city. Most understood it.
“It was not as if he had signed for United, for example. But the Everton project stayed there: there was no investment, and we had a lot of injuries.
“We lost the backbone of the team and some crucial points. However, we had six points ahead of the relegation with two games in hand.
Former Everton coach Rafael Benitez (Image: Visionhaus / Getty Images Photo)