Everton have confirmed the appointment of Rafael Benitez as the new manager.
Carlo Ancelotti left the Premier League club earlier this summer to take over at Real Madrid, and the 61-year-old Spaniard will be his replacement.
The former Liverpool manager has signed a three-year contract with the Premier League side, and he will take charge of the squad when the players return for pre-season on the 5th of July.
The Toffees were linked with several other candidates, but they have decided to appoint the former Premier League manager as Ancelotti’s replacement.
Benitez is not a popular choice with the fans because of his history with Liverpool, but there is no doubt that he could be a quality acquisition for the Toffees.
The Spanish manager has won the Champions League with Liverpool, and he has proven himself at other clubs like Chelsea, Inter Milan and Valencia as well.
He guided Valencia to the Spanish league title and won the Europa League with Chelsea. He also managed to lift the Club World Cup with Inter Milan during his time in Italy.
The 61-year-old has proven his quality across multiple leagues in Europe, and he recently had a managerial spell in China as well.
Everton will be hoping that the Spaniard can lead them to trophies in the coming seasons, and it will be interesting to see if Benitez can win over the fan base with positive results next season.
The Club’s Majority Shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, said: “Rafa impressed us greatly with his knowledge and experience but, above all, the passion and hunger he showed to join our club.
“We are appointing Rafa because we believe he will bring success to our club and to Evertonians. To put it simply – we need to be competing at the top-end of the league and to be winning trophies. Rafa is a proven winner with huge experience in coaching internationally, and we have secured the best man to achieve that for us.”
Rafael Benitez said: “I am delighted to be joining Everton. Throughout this process, I have been greatly impressed by the ambition shown by the senior representatives at the club and their desire to bring success to this historic club.
“I believe this is a Club that is going places. I’m determined to play a big part in helping this great club achieve its ambitions.”
