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REAL MADRID

Florentino criticism could be costly for Benitez

The former Real Madrid coach could have breached a sub clause in his severance contract after his declarations against club president Florentino Perez on BT Sport last Wednesday.

Update:
Florentino criticism could be costly for Benitez

Rafa Benítez’s comments on Wednesday night on BT Sport may prove to be costly for the former Real Madrid coach. During the preview of the AS Roma v Real Madrid Champions League tie the coach from Parla was frank and forthright upon being questioned by host Gary Lineker about his brief tenure at the Bernabeu. The 55 year old coach on more than one occasion alluded to the huge influence that club president Florentino Pérez has on day to day activity of the first team squad: "The minute you make a mistake or when the president feels you have made a mistake, then you have a problem". Benitez also suggested that Real Madrid lacked a defined style of play as a result of the lack of continuity on the bench and made a direct comparison with the success at Barcelona in the past few years.

According to financial based Spanish portal ElEconomista.es Real Madrid could point to a clause of silence which Benítez signed when he was dismissed buy the club and this could impact to the pay-off fee the coach was entitled to. The pay-off package was constructed on the basis that the former coach did not discuss the background details surrounding his dismissal as first team coach on January 4. The total sum which Benitez received from the club was four million euro net, this was the outstanding figure due to the coach should he have completed his contract through to June 30. 2016. The club were also obliged to pay the 55 year old another lump sum for maintaining silence on the motivation behind his dismissal through to July 1, 2016 . His declarations on Wednesday night contravene this clause claim El Economista.

Rafa Benitez
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Rafa BenitezArchive

Manuel García Quilón (Benitez's agent) subsequently refuted these claims stating that: “Rafa has already been paid what he is owed by Madrid". The coach signed a three year deal with the football club and in the case that he was sacked before January 15, 2016 he would only be paid for one year. Quilón claims that Benitez has no payments outstanding from the club and his comments on BT Sport have no financial impact on the coach

This style of clause is quite common with the majority of larger profile football clubs. A recent example being Tottenham Hotspur and the Gareth Bale deal. The London based club could not reveal the exact transfer fee sum that Real Madrid paid for the Welsh international. Similar sub-clauses were drafted into the pay-off deals when both Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti were let go by the club from the Spanish capital.