Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has rejected the opportunity to replace his former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez at Newcastle United following an approach from the Premier League club, according to the Daily Mirror.
Beleaguered Newcastle chairman Mike Ashley had identified Gerrard along with former Arsenal midfielder and current Nice manager Patrick Vieira as his top targets following Benitez’s departure at the end of June.
However, Gerrard has resisted the opportunity to return to England in order to stay at Rangers, whom he joined last summer in what is his first managerial role. Unfortunately for Ashley, Vieira also looks to be staying where he is for the time being too.
Although Celtic won the domestic treble for the third year running, Rangers did narrow the gap slightly on their OId Firm rivals under Gerrard’s management, finishing nine points behind in second compared to 12 points the season before his arrival.
Rangers’ second-place finish in the Scottish Premiership qualified the club for the Europa League and their campaign starts on Tuesday when they face Gibraltarian minnows St Joseph’s in the first qualifying round of the competition.
Newcastle, meanwhile, now face the prospect of entering pre-season without a first-team manager in place having failed to find a successor to Benitez. The Spaniard left at the end of his contract on June 30 and has since joined Dalian Yifang in China in a deal worth £12m per season.
Following his departure from Newcastle, Benitez released a statement to the club’s supporters, saying: ‘I wanted to stay, but I didn’t just want to sign an extended contract, I wanted to be part of a project.
‘Unfortunately, it became increasingly clear to me that those at the top of the club did not share the same vision.
‘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.’
Benitez got off to a perfect start in charge of his new club Dalian Yifang as they beat Henan Jianye 3-1 in his first game on Sunday with Arsenal transfer target Yannick Carrasco getting on the scoresheet from the penalty spot.
