While attention is drawn to South Africa, there’s big news from back home in the Premier League this morning with Liverpool reportedly offering manager Rafa Benitez a severance deal that would seem him leave the club by the weekend.
It’s is understood that the offer is £3 million and that Benitez has just a matter of days to consider the deal. If he accepts he will leave Anfield with immediate effect. Regardless, this shock move by the Liverpool board surely makes Rafa’s position untenable and it looks almost certain that he’ll be on his way.
Right now official comment is scarce with Liverpool refusing to confirm the report while Rafa’s agent Manuel Garcia Quilon is also keeping quiet.
“We don’t know anything more than what’s being said…We’re not saying anything.”
The departure of Benitez would surely spark a major upheaval at Anfield with the future of Fernando Torres, among others in the squad, in further doubt. There’s likely to be much more on this to come throughout the day and over the entire summer, particularly if Rafa’s departure results in another Premier League manager being targeted as a replacement. The bookies are already putting a list of candidates together with Martin O’Neill, Roy Hodgson and Laurent Blanc amongst the names mentioned.