Rafa Benitez nears exit as Napoli president fumes at ‘unworthy’ players after cup defeat

Rafael Benitez is all but certain to leave Napoli at the end of the season, according to various reports. Maurizio Parenti / AFP

Rafael Benitez has moved closer to quitting Napoli following their exit from the Coppa Italia on Wednesday, with reports already proposing several candidates to replace the veteran Spaniard.

Benitez has remained coy on whether he will extend his stay at the San Paolo, where his contract will expire at the end of this season.

But Napoli’s 1-0 defeat to Lazio (2-1 on aggregate) in the deciding second leg of the semi-final appears to have hastened Benitez’s eventual departure.

Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, who has steered the Genovese side to fifth place in Serie A and contention for a Europa League place, has been linked to Benitez’s post, although there is also reported interest from AC Milan.

Luciano Spalletti, former coach of Roma who won four trophies including two Russian league titles in his last spell, with Zenit Saint Petersburg, is also in the frame, according to reports.

Napoli had been pressing for a second-place finish for most of this season, but a six-game winless run in the league has left Benitez’s side in sixth place, a point behind Sampdoria and eight adrift of Lazio in the third and last Uefa Champions League place with nine games remaining.

Napoli remain in contention in the Europa League, where they face Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals on April 16 and 23.

So, their Coppa Italia elimination has merely added to their league woes.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis made no mention of Benitez’s fate but was furious following their Cup elimination.

“These players seem to be far too distracted. I’ve invested €386 million in the squad in recent years, I have a right to see some kind of return,” De Laurentiis told Sportitalia.

“From now until the end of the season, if we don’t change tack and the players are not capable of playing for the jersey, they are going into a training retreat.

“I hope this will prove a turning point and help us find some pride. Our performances of late have not been worthy of Napoli.”

Napoli host Fiorentina on Sunday.

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