Rafa Benitez has always been a hot commodity. Despite being disgraced by Real Madrid, he was still heavily sought after by many clubs. Benitez was linked to multiple Premier League clubs following Newcastle United’s relegation, including Everton, Southampton, and others. Spain was even considering him for the international job.
But after all that, he stated that the love of the fans, and the amazing atmosphere is why he’d rather be nowhere else but Newcastle right now. We all remember when the fans were chanting “Rafa Benitez we want you to stay!” when the club faced Tottenham in their last match of the season.
West Ham isn’t performing as well as they’d like. However, Newcastle United is performing so well that nearly every Championship team believes they’re going to be dancing all the way to the trophy. This is due to Benitez getting the best out of his players.
This may be overwhelming confidence -- or arrogance, the two are often misinterpreted — but there is nothing that any club can offer Rafa Benitez right now when Newcastle United is having overwhelming success. Newcastle United gave in to all of Benitez’s demands, and because of that, Newcastle is successful.
Benitez seems more than content being at Newcastle United. And until his mission with the club is finished, which is winning a trophy and hopefully the Premier League, he is unlikely to give up what he has currently built. At Real Madrid, he was unable to command control over transfers, which hurt his plans on building a team that he believed would help him win. He has the ability at Newcastle.
Sorry West Ham, but Benitez is at Newcastle. There is nothing you can offer to lure him away.