Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has been inducted into the LMA 1000 Club Hall of Fame after reaching a century of games as a manager.
LMA President and current England boss Gareth Southgate attended the ceremony, which also saw Carlo Ancelotti, Claudio Ranieri, Sven-Goran Eriksson and John Toshack inducted.
In receiving the honour, Benitez becomes the 24th manager to be inducted and joins a host of prestigious names including Arsene Wenger and Sir Matt Busby.
Former managerial rival Sir Alex Ferguson, who presented the award to the Spaniard, said: “Congratulations to Carlo, Rafa, Sven, Tony, Claudio and John on surpassing this extraordinary milestone in football management. They join a select group of 24 managers, some of the most decorated and experienced individuals in the game, in a very special club.
“It takes decades of sacrifice, resilience and talent to build such marvellous careers in the game and each of these managers has experienced every emotion and every challenge that comes with the job, and achieved a great deal.
“I’m delighted to welcome them into the LMA 1000 Club and wish them all further success in their managerial careers.”
