Ex Everton + Newcastle United boss turns next Rangers manager contender as 49ers will 'talk' to him over role

A former Newcastle United and Everton manager is emerging as a contender to be the next permanent Rangers boss.

The names for who comes next after Philippe Clement’s sacking have been rife. Barry Ferguson is the interim caretaker until the end of the season but his chances of the top job were not helped by a shock 2-1 loss at home to Motherwell at the weekend.

One name that has now emerged as a contender with American-based 49ers Enterprises poised to launch a takeover of the club is Rafa Benitez. The vastly experienced Spanish boss was most recently in the UK with Newcastle United and Everton, last managing at Celta Vigo.

Rangers links take flight

Now the Daily Record report that the 49ers intend to speak with Benitez about the role. Reporter Scott Burns stated: “It was suggested to me on Saturday that Benitez was one of the options Rangers were looking at. When I say Rangers, I'm told it's very much the incoming new owners who would be looking at the next manager and I know he has started to look at options.

"I was told that Rafa Benitez was one they were going to talk to. I spoke to a colleague who is very close to Rafa Benitez and his agent and they had said there had been no contact at all.

"If they are interested in Rafa Benitez they haven't taken it to the stage where they have said to Rafa 'look, we want to talk to you, would you be open to discussions?' - as it stands I think it might still be at an early stage with the new Rangers owners waiting to get past the next hurdle. Once they get past that I would expect things to be firmed up. If that is the case that Rafa Benitez is on the list I would suggest they would speak to him then."

From Liverpool to Madrid

Benitez has been at some of the world’s top clubs, famously having success at Liverpool. He has also managed Real Madrid, Inter Milan and others with the lure of having to compete for trophies every season likely to appeal to him if he were to want the Rangers gig.

Speaking to the Times in 2021 in between his spells at Newcastle United and Everton, he said of what he craves in a club: “A competitive team that allows you to challenge for trophies, or a project that allows you to improve and grow and do better.

“The priority is England. Why? Because obviously I like the Premier League and my family is here. I have a lot [of offers] from the Emirates, United States, Brazil, China, but I want to stay in Europe. And I want to stay in England. If it’s the right one, we can do it tomorrow but the project, the competitive team, is not there at the moment so we have to wait. But I don’t want to stay without working. I want to be on the pitch as soon as possible.”