Real Madrid defender Pepe has paid tribute to former Coach Carlo Ancelotti and claimed that Rafa Benitez would be a “good” replacement.
The Napoli boss is the overriding favourite to replace the 54-year-old in Los Blancos’ managerial hotseat after announcing his departure from San Paolo, and the Portuguese endorsed the prospective appointment, but not without praising his predecessor.
“[Rafa] Benitez isn’t part of Real Madrid yet,” he told La Sexta.
“He’s still Napoli’s Coach and I won’t speak about him because it would be unfair on them.
“[Benitez] is a good Coach who’s done well wherever he’s been, especially at Liverpool, but these [reports] are just the Press talking. We’ll see what happens in the next few days.
“[Ancelotti] told us he’d rest for a year. He has the affection of everyone at the club and was a very good Coach for us.
“He really liked working with us. We were a very good group and gave great joy to everyone with La Decima.
“Every day we spent with him was important and he coached some great players. We were all very happy with him.”
