maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 3 JULY 2019
21
SPORTS
FOOTBALL
FORMER Newcastle United boss Ra-
fael Benitez has been appointed man-
ager of Chinese side Dalian Yifang.
The Spaniard left the Magpies on
Sunday after his contract expired,
saying that the Premier League club
"did not share his vision".
He replaces Choi Kang-hee, who
resigned on Monday "for personal
reasons".
"After a long path, we start a new
challenge. I´m happy to begin this
new project with Dalian Yifang," said
59-year-old Benitez.
Benitez, who has also managed
Liverpool, Chelsea, Valencia and
Real Madrid, received a £12m offer
to manage Dalian Yifang, tweeted a
message welcoming himself to the
club.
He led Newcastle to a 13th place fin-
ish in the Premier League last season.
"I wanted to stay, but I didn't just
want to sign an extended contract, I
wanted to be part of a project," Ben-
itez said in a letter to fans on Monday.
"I'm very sad about that, but I do not
regret for one moment my decision to
come to Tyneside and I'm very proud
about what we achieved together."
The move to Dalian sees him reunit-
ed with Marek Hamsik, who played
under Benitez at Napoli between
2013 and 2015.
Belgium international Yannick Car-
rasco also plays for the club.
Rafael Benitez to leave Newcastle United
Benitez led Newcastle to promotion to the Premier League in 2016-17 before keeping them in the top flight for the last two seasons
