Rafa Benitez hints at Napoli exit next season to fuel speculations of Liverpool return

Napoli football team boss Rafa Benitez has hinted strongly that he would leave the Italian club at the end of the season to rejoin his family on Merseyside to fuel speculations of Liverpool return.

Benitez has been made a 6-1 favourite to replace current Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers and his decision to leave Napoli has added fuel to the speculations.

Despite almost winning the title last season and leading his club into the Champions League for the first time in five years, bookies Paddy Power have mischievously quoted odds on the next Liverpool manager, with Spaniard Benitez favourite at 6-1, ahead of Frank de Boer, Laurent Blanc and Ronald Koeman, The Mirror reported.

And the former Liverpool boss did little to halt that speculation, when he admitted that he found it hard being parted from his family, while he manages Napoli in Italy.

He explained that his wife and two daughters live in Liverpool, adding that it's the first time he has not had them with him and it's not easy. He said that Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis knows how important his family values are to him.

Benitez had come under increasing pressure after his Napoli side were knocked out of the Champions League in the qualifying rounds and then stumbled in Serie A, and even though they have risen more recently to third, seven points off leaders Juventus, he has yet to be offered a new contract for next season, the report added.