OPINION
Newcastle United supporters have every right to be concerned about the future of manager Rafael Benitez, and their exasperation will only have increased on Saturday.
That’s because the Daily Mirror reported that French heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille are interested in offering the Spaniard a Magpies escape route.
That’s a major blow to Newcastle’s chances of keeping Benitez. Yes, he wants to stay at the club, that’s long since been established, but if he’s not getting the reassurances he needs from the higher ups then both these sides offer intriguing alternatives to the Newcastle experience.
PSG are, of course, a globally recognised powerhouse who continually gobble up trophies domestically. Benitez would be fulfilling his desire to compete for major honours, while being presented with the opportunity to be the man who finally gets PSG over the hump in the Champions League.
Marsille, while clearly not being as attractive a proposition as the French champions, are a huge club in their own right with some excellent players. That would be a decent post for Benitez as well.
So it would be no surprise if the Magpies faithful were hiding behind their sofas after reading the Mirror’s report. All it does is add to the uncertainty over the manager’s future and suggest that he may well see his future lying away from St James’ Park.
Ultimately, it seems that the former Liverpool boss would definitely remain at Newcastle if the club matched his ambition. However, he will now know that he has options available to him if he decides to leave, and very good ones at that.
The Mirror’s report represents a real blow to the club’s chances of keeping their world class manager, something which would be a dagger to the hearts of the Magpies’ supporters.
