Rafa Benitez has been confirmed in his 15th role as a senior manager, with the former Liverpool boss making the surprise move to Greece for his next venture.
Benitez was sacked from his role as head coach at Celta Vigo in March 2024 and had remained on the hunt for a new position ever since.
That has now taken him to Greece, becoming manager of Panathinaikos, with the Spaniard signing a two-and-a-half-year contract which will reportedly make him the highest-paid coach in the league.
He is set to earn around €4 million per year as he takes over a club currently seventh in Super League 1, and will be in the dugout for their clash with Asteras Tripolis on Sunday.
The 65-year-old’s appointment was delayed until after Panathinaikos’ Europa League trip to Feyenoord on Thursday, which they lost 3-1 to Robin van Persie’s side.
Benitez’s new squad features former Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella, who joined in the summer after five years in France with Nantes.
Other familiar faces include former Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Renato Sanches, ex-AC Milan Davide Calabria and winger Facundo Pellistri, formerly of Man United.
The move to Panathinaikos marks Benitez’s 15th job as a senior manager and takes him to a fifth different country after various roles in Spain, England, Italy and one in China.
Speaking to This Is Anfield in May, the Champions League winner explained why he and his family still live in Liverpool despite last managing in the city in 2022 when he was at Everton.
“My daughters grew up here and we were very happy, and the relationship with the fans and with people was great, and still is,” he said, with the Benitez family having lived in the area since 2004.
“So, we are really pleased and I think they will stay here forever.
“I am from Madrid, so I have to move around, but for them, they will stay here for sure.”
Benitez had previously expressed an interest in returning to a role in the Premier League, but for now his career has taken him to Greece and a chance of reviving one of the country’s most storied clubs.
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