Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez pleased to hear Real Madrid rumours
RAFAEL BENITEZ has renewed speculation he could leave Chelsea for Real Madrid in the summer.
It’s nice that they link you in one way or another
Interim-boss Benitez ends his tenure at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season while Jose Mourinho is widely tipped to leave the Bernabeu.
Benitez served as Vicente del Bosque's assistant manager at Madrid in 1994 and he also coached Real Madrid B.
"I know Real Madrid well as a club. I was there from the age of 13 years old as a player and also as a coach," Benitez told Spanish newspaper Marca.
"Moreover, I am from Madrid. It’s nice that they link you in one way or another - but it does not make me lose my concentration on my current team and that is Chelsea."
But Benitez added: "José Mourinho is the Real Madrid coach. I have a rule that I don't talk about the coaches of other teams. I'm concentrating on my own and that is enough for me."
The Spaniard was often linked to the Madrid job while managing Liverpool, where he won the Champions League in 2005.
He said: "Everybody knows that if you are at a club, as I was at Liverpool, it's always more positive than negative to keep your word, even if it means you have to give up something as attractive as Real Madrid was."