Report: Rafa Benitez Fired By Liverpool

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has been fired, according to reports out of England.

Benitez is coming off his sixth season at Anfield, the team’s seventh place finish being the Reds’ worst season since the former Valencia boss took over ahead of the 2004-05 season. That year saw Benitez guide Liverpool to the UEFA Champions League title, defeating Milan on penalty kicks in the final. The next year Benitez guided Liverpool to the FA Cup, the last major piece of silverware he would win at Anfield.

According to reports, Benitez’s last days as manager were spent negotiating his contact’s buyout:

Benitez, who is on holiday in Sardinia, was hanging on only to negotiate his payoff. He has a £16million clause in his contract that must be paid in full if he is dismissed, and the only detail left to be finalised late last night was just how much of that money he would receive.As the report notes, a buy-out would clear the way for Benitez to take another job, having been linked with the position vacated by José Mourinho at Internazionale.

Liverpool is one year removed from a second place finish in the English Premier League, but an early exit from UEFA Champions League heightened criticism of Benitez’s job at Anfield. The team seemed to recover with a run to the Europa League semifinals, but a loss to Atlético Madrid at that stage combined with Liverpool fading from the race for fourth in the Premier League left the Reds with only seventh place and a Europa League qualifying spot at season’s end.

But before the players’ futures are settled, Rafa Benitez appears to be set to leave Liverpool. Candidates that have been mentioned as possible replacements include Fulham’s Roy Hodgson, Bayern Munich’s Louis van Gaal and Ajax’s Martin Jol.