When Rafa Benitez took the Newcastle United job in March 2016, he was expected to activate his contract’s get-out clause if the club went down. Amazingly, he didn’t and is still at St. James’ Park.
The Spaniard got Newcastle back into the Premier League the season after, despite Toon owner Mike Ashley’s notoriously tight purse strings, and now again they’re fighting against relegation together.
So, do Newcastle need Benitez more than he does them?
Without Benitez, Newcastle would most likely have still have gone down in 2016 because it was almost a lost cause when he was appointed. Down in the Championship, would Newcastle have been promoted without the ex-Liverpool boss? We’re not so sure.
If Benitez would have activated his contract’s get-out clause and left, there would most probably have been a mass exodus following him. The fact he clearly wanted to stay and come straight back up gave the players something to believe in and to fight for. It kept the feeling of the Magpies being the Premier League team they were the season before.
That being said, they have been down before and they’ve bounced straight back up. The shrewd running of the club meant that they didn’t fall down the leagues like Sunderland even without Benitez at the helm, that must be said.
In terms of Benitez needing Newcastle, it was clear that when he got the job, he must have been pretty desperate to get back into management. Although Newcastle has a large stadium and big reputation, it’s still not the most ideal job for a man who has just been in the dugout at Real Madrid. He needed the club then.
Still, he may need them just as much now. Clearly, the Spaniard is an attractive option for many clubs but he’s often spoken about the potential to build something. Where else could he find such a connection between the fans and the city? Where else could he enjoy such love from a fanbase and make himself an icon?
The answer is – not many places.
Once he went down with Newcastle, it seemed he was trying to prove his abilities as a manager again by bringing Newcastle back up. He needed the club at that point to build his reputation back. They’ve helped him.
Who do you think needs the other more, Rafa Benitez or Newcastle?