Sky Sports has just confirmed earlier reports that Rafa Benitez will in fact take the job as manager of Dalian Yifang in the Chinese Super League.
Here is a tweet they have just sent out:
BREAKING: Rafa Benitez has agreed to become the new manager of Chinese club Dalian Yifang, Sky Sports News understands.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 1, 2019
This information also has been confirmed in an interview by George Caulkin in the Times.
Here is his tweet with a link to the interview:
Exclusive with @rafabenitezweb
??Sad farewell from “Honorary Geordie.”
??Praise for #Nufc fans,players & staff.
??”Wanted to stay 100%” even after Ashley meeting in May.
??Didn’t feel club’s “desire” to keep him.
??Lack of takeover clarity a “big problem.”https://t.co/0R4IMjMqAZ— George Caulkin (@GeorgeCaulkin) July 1, 2019
Here is another tweet confirming that Rafa is in fact in China right now signing for Dalian Yifang.
There’s loads of other stuff in here, including Rafa agreeing to an honorary life membership of @nufctrust which is a classy touch, what he was and wasn’t asking for from #Nufc & the erosion of trust. He’s now in China to sign for Dalian Yifang.
— George Caulkin (@GeorgeCaulkin) July 1, 2019
We are happy that Rafa will have an opportunity to coach in China though we feel that it is a tragedy in that he will not be coaching at the top level and also for Newcastle that they have lost out on a great coach.
He will join ex-Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik who is currently with the Chinese club.
271 comments so far
bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:49 PM
Comment #161OO,
We can fight for the privilege. Time and place of my choosing.
droppy in Wallsend
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:50 PM
Comment #162Return
Not to be argumentative, as I happen to agree up to a certain point.
Would you be happy if a new boss came in and did incredibly well by some miracle. Would MA be just another bad owner and no worse than any others?
bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:51 PM
Comment #163OO,
Unless you live somewhere nice to visit.
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:52 PM
Comment #164I don’t think we have ever had owners who weren’t prepared to sell the family silver (good players) at the scent on money.
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:53 PM
Comment #165‘of money’
Toon44
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:53 PM
Comment #166Rafas gone to China, there’s only one reason he went there, and it’s not for winning trophies.
Bobbybee
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:54 PM
Comment #167Right, get it right. Shows how much people know. It wasnt SJH who insulted anybody. It was his idiot son. The problems began when he ceded control to that fool and Shepherd. I have not and will not defend either of those clowns, but seriously, if you want to slag off the club’s saviour – and he did save us at a huge cost to his own personal fortune – then you don’t deserve another good owner.
He took us from being doomed to third division football, to top of the PL and built the best stadium in the country at that time.
WOW!! How short some memories are. More to the point how ungrateful. SJH loved this club when the majority of fans had given up on us. He spent millions of his own money without knowing he’d ever get any of it back. He made a mistake trusting his son, but remember, didn’t Shepherd sell his shares first?
Seriously, I’m sickened to even read that shit.
droppy in Wallsend
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:55 PM
Comment #168And that’s another 50p
Mund
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:57 PM
Comment #169Droppy
I can’t enjoy anything Newcastle United related until that leech has gone that’s just me tho and I might just be speaking from pure anger and hate right now and things might change in the future but every bone in my body tells me no it won’t. Can you really go forward and enjoy Ashley’s blueprint for this club knowing what he is doing? He got rid of the one beacon of hope this club has seen since SBR and never mind everything else he has done I’ll never forgive that air stealing slithering slug or fcuking Penfold ever and can never enjoy football until they are gone
jane
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:57 PM
Comment #170today has given me closure on Rafa leaving.
Bobbybee
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:59 PM
Comment #171SJH’s son called the lasses slags and Shepherd called us mugs for buying shirts. SJH would never have done either. At the end of the day he was a businessman and obviously wanted some return for his investment, but without him, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and that’s a fact whether your bizarre memory recalls it correctly or not.
jane
Jul 1, 2019 at 7:59 PM
Comment #172there are other good managers out there too. let’s hope we get one 🙂
Just a fan
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:00 PM
Comment #173Bobbybee .hall sold his shares first whilst shepherd was on his sickbed.
droppy in Wallsend
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:00 PM
Comment #174Mund
I wasn’t saying I would enjoy it mate.
Can’t see how anything good comes from the slug being here. Was just putting the question out there.
mac the jaffrey
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:01 PM
Comment #175https://twitter.com/undercovermag/status/1145767209677066243?s=21
This is class
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:02 PM
Comment #176Bobby
You make a fair argument for SJH, he also backed the Falcons Rugby Club (can’t remember if they were called the falcons then) and they were a top title winning club then. Also if I recall correctly promoted the Ice hockey team which was again very successful, unfortunately his memory is tainted by his son so he also gets the brickbats.
Mund
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:02 PM
Comment #177Droppy
I wasn’t aiming at digs at you mate sorry if it came across that way I’m just feeling pretty crap right now like us all
Optimistic Oryx
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:03 PM
Comment #178Magpie group meeting tonight, on Chronicle live
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-magpie-group-meeting-16512816
Return of the Geordi
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:04 PM
Comment #179Bobby Yes I remember the old shit stadium and yes John Hall did build the new stadium he didn’t do it out of some act of philanthropy, he did it to increase revenues for his business
Droppy I hate Mike Ashley with a passion and the sooner he’s gone the better. Is he worse than the rest? Well when he bought the club weren’t we supposedly going bust under the Halls and Sheperds? Who sacked Sir Bobby for finishing 5th.
droppy in Wallsend
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:05 PM
Comment #180Mund
No worries bro.
Think everyone is just sick of it now.
I’m now at the point where I am making daft jokes etc just so i can feel something other than deflated.
toon22
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:06 PM
Comment #181Yeh
MA “saved” us
Give it a rest
Ashleysaddress
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:06 PM
Comment #182Testing testing
Jib
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:06 PM
Comment #183On 23 May 2007, in a surprise move, Ashley bought Sir John Hall’s 41.6% stake in
Newcastle United at one pound per share, for a total cost of £55,342,223 via his
company St James Holdings Ltd.
Freddy Shepherd’s 10-year reign as Newcastle chairman appeared to be coming to an end last night following the purchase of Sir John Hall’s 41.6 per cent shareholding in the club by the sports shop tycoon Mike Ashley.
Ashley launched his dramatic takeover by agreeing to pay the Hall family £55million for the stake they have held in the club since the end of the Eighties, a holding which cost them just £3m.
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:08 PM
Comment #184mac
The question was asked at the end of that video, ‘who do we support now’ I would suggest support your local small team, The Heed would be the obvious choice as it is easy to get to for Toon supporters.
Return of the Geordi
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:09 PM
Comment #185Toon 22 not saying MA saved us but every owner is in it not for the fans but for their own interests, even Saint John Hall
Mund
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:09 PM
Comment #186Droppy
Wish I was at that stage thing is with me I’ve got a good way of controlling thoughts mind over matter reason I say this only until today I’ve kept a little light a ray of hope and now it’s gone so all the negativity and bad news I’ve put off this last few weeks has all of a sudden come flooding out. Sickening how much I love this club and have to sit here and accept everything that is going it’s killing me
magscar
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:10 PM
Comment #187Just catching up
Rafa to China didn’t realy see that as astarter eveb at money but perhaps there wasn’t a viable project for him right now
Good to see you back Bobby and glad you are over virus – nasty things
Magpie Group meeting well underway wonder how many off Blog are there?
latest – 300 or so there ( more than September meeting) — now splitting into groups of 7-8 for 10 minutes to come up worth 2 ideas
Earlier Ian from Leazs Flags said
“With regards to all the splinter groups, I failed at that – I went off and started United against Ashley. UAA started with some momentum at first and I thought we could have something positive but it’s social media where everyone says they will turn up. We expected 200 or 300 people to turn up but no one turned up.”
Just shows the difficulty i getting people on social media to get off keyboards.
On the other hand 15 of the 20 who help out Wor Flags on matchdays no longer going so is in hiatus.
Talk of having to stick together
Interested to see what ideas come forward from the brain storming
Essex Geordie Bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:10 PM
Comment #188Jane
It hasn’t me it leaves a running sore that will only give me closure once Ashlie is finally gone.
bill
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:10 PM
Comment #189There were a number of interested parties wanting some input at the time SJH took over. Don’t get me wrong Bobbybee, part of the SJH/Shepherd era was good for the club, but how did it end? KK apparently left because of broken promises, they sacked Bobby Robson after finishing 5th. They sell the club to a parasite. Don’t forget, the KK era was more about KK than SJH and Freddie Shepherd. Most of that team cost buttons.
Return of the Geordi
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:10 PM
Comment #190Yeah Jib not a bad return eh.
Jib
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:12 PM
Comment #191“Mike Ashley is a major player in the sporting world and I am convinced that he is the right person to take my place and take the club forward,” said Sir John Hall, who had previously tried to sell his family’s holding to the Belgravia Group and Polygon and U.S.B.
Bobbybee
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:13 PM
Comment #192Let’s get it right. He bought the Club, along with Shepherd when we were bottom of the second division. Under their tenure we played 110 games in Europe, built SJP into a 52000 all seater stadium and built a world class training centre, appeared twice at Wembley and had the most exciting team ever built in England at that time.
WHAT DID YOU DO?
droppy in Wallsend
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:13 PM
Comment #193Return.
I wasn’t questioning whether you hate MA mate.
Just think SJH whilst not a saint by any means did a hell of a lot of good too.
End of the day even if BZG, ABC or bloody NWA buy us they will be wanting to see profit.
SJH was certainly better than most.
c-dog
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:14 PM
Comment #194Essex Bill
Have you been sipping the cheap tesco lager again?
magscar
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:14 PM
Comment #195Ideas so far
Joint day of protests with Rangers
Throwing tennis balls to get game stopped vs Arsenal to ‘embarrass’ Ashley in front of live TV audience
Road shows
March on Westminster
Boycotting Newcastle United merchandise
The mighty wyn
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:15 PM
Comment #196I understood sjh sold cos he needed the cash for his idiot sons divorce. However he did sell when Freddie was in hispital
Return of the Geordi
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:15 PM
Comment #197Yes John Hall took a back seat when his idiot son took over but he was still the one with the shares and real power. Maybe we should rename the ground Saint John’s Park.
#boycott Arsenal
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:17 PM
Comment #198Not a bad turn out at all here tonight 300 roughly.
c-dog
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:17 PM
Comment #199St. Jibs Park
Optimistic Oryx
Jul 1, 2019 at 8:18 PM
Comment #200Mags
I haven’t went this time, I went to the last and have been to other protests or meetings.
I’ve worked 23 days on the trot I’m knackered and couldn’t be bothered, I’m not really in the mood to be discussing peaceful protest.