Rafael Benitez casts doubt on his Napoli future

Rafael Benitez Napoli

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Rafael Benitez has fuelled speculation suggesting he could leave Napoli at the end of this season by admitted he is missing his family, who are in Liverpool.

The former Chelsea, Valencia and Liverpool boss’ contract in Naples expires next summer and recent reports hinted that the Spaniard was close to penning an extended deal at San Paolo.

However, that may now be unlikely as Benitez has told the Gazzetta dello Sport: “The problem isn’t the renewal, but sharing the same vision, it’s not a question of money or signings. We need to work to see if we can win together going forward or not, and then we’ll see.

“My family are away from me, my wife and two daughters live in Liverpool. It’s the first time I haven’t had them with me, it’s not easy.”
Benitez, who is believed to be keen on succeeding Vicente del Bosque as Spain boss, has been in charge of Napoli since May 2013 when he replaced Walter Mazzarri.

In his first season in charge, Benitez guided the club to victory in the Coppa Italia, defeating Fiorentina 3-1 in the final, and into the last 16 of the Europa League, before they were knocked out by Porto.

Napoli finished third in Serie A last term that set up a Champions League play-off encounter with Athletic Club Bilbao which they lost in August.

They seem set to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League though and are 2.45 to win their next group game against Sparta Prague, while a victory for the Czech side is available at 2.71.

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