Benitez reaffirms Dalian dedication as rumors swirl

Rafa Benitez has ruled himself out of the running for managerial jobs at Arsenal, Everton and West Ham, with the Spaniard insisting he is "really happy" at Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang.

After initially steering Dalian away from the CSL relegation zone upon his arrival from Newcastle United in July, Benitez struggled to stir his team in the second half of the campaign, with the Liaoning province club eventually finishing a disappointing ninth.

The slump led to rumors that Benitez could be on his way back to the English Premier League. The firings of Unai Emery at Arsenal and Marco Silva at Everton, as well as Manuel Pellegrini's tenuous position at West Ham, have added fuel to the speculation.

But speaking in London, where he was working as an analyst for Sky Sports' live broadcast of Arsenal's 3-1 win at West Ham, Benitez reaffirmed his commitment to Dalian and said he was enjoying masterminding its Wanda-backed rebuilding project.

"I can be very clear－there is no chance I will come back now because I'm really happy," said the 59-year-old Benitez.

"I'm really pleased Dalian Yifang trusts me. We have a lot of staff working on a big, big project. We want to leave a legacy and it's a challenge for me. I'm quite happy at the moment.

"In the future I would like to come back to the Premier League because I like the league."

Benitez is held in high esteem in English soccer, having steered Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005.

His wife and daughters still live in the Merseyside area, and he admitted that, in the future, he could be tempted to work nearer to his family home if Everton came calling.

"Obviously I have Liverpool connections, that is very clear. But at the same time we are involved in the city, we have a lot of friends in the city, Evertonians and Liverpudlians," he said.

"So I don't have any problem with the fans, with the people there. Obviously we are closer to Liverpool but in the future... I am a professional... so in the future, you never know.

"Imagine I want to stay in England, I want to stay close to my family, I cannot get a job, then you have a job there close to you."

The former Real Madrid boss has also been strongly linked with West Ham, where Chilean manager Pellegrini appears to be on the brink after second-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at London Stadium on Monday left the free-falling Hammers just a point above the drop zone.

However, although he almost joined the Hammers four years ago before heading to Madrid, Benitez said there was no chance of the east London club tempting him away from China.

"It was in the past, it's true that I was nearly there (at West Ham)," he said. "Then Real Madrid came, and I needed a couple of days to know exactly what was going on.

"Obviously I couldn't say no to Real Madrid, but it was a good time and it's a massive club. Everybody can see both teams (West Ham and Arsenal) have problems, but both are massive clubs and they will do well at the end."

Bankrolled by construction giant Wanda Group, Benitez has been tasked with restoring the glory days at Dalian, which in its previous incarnation dominated Chinese soccer in the 1990s.

However, despite the expensive acquisitions of Slovakian playmaker Marek Hamsik from Napoli and Belgium's ex-Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco, Dalian remains a long way off the CSL's elite, finishing a sizable 32 points outside the automatic qualification places for the Asian Champions League.

Pinning his hopes on strong financial backing in the winter transfer window, Benitez is hopeful of a better finish next term and has been effusive in his praise of Dalian's overall development strategy.

"Wanda is behind the team and they will have a new training ground in December with 14 pitches, two indoor pitches, and everything is top class," Benitez told BBC's Football Daily podcast last month.

"We have another project in which we are bringing 10 coaches from Spain for the schools and we have around 10 more coaches from Spain to make sure we have the methodology and the way that we coach and do things in Spain. They want to replicate all these things in the academy, in the schools, reserve team and first team.

"Dalian Yifang is a new club in name only but the reality is that they won seven or eight trophies in the past... and they want to go back to the same level. The fans are very passionate and they love football. Dalian is maybe the biggest city for football in China."

Pereira in demand

Meanwhile, Everton is reportedly targeting another top CSL coach－Shanghai SIPG's Vitor Pereira.

After firing Silva last Friday, the Toffees have appointed club legend Duncan Ferguson on a caretaker basis, with the Scot delivering some much-needed cheer to Goodison Park with a 3-1 win over Chelsea on Saturday.

However, Sky Sports claims the Toffees want Pereira installed as Silva's permanent successor before Sunday's Premier League trip to Manchester United.

Negotiations are reportedly underway with Pereira, who is also on Arsenal's radar. However, SIPG is determined to hang on to the Portuguese and could easily trump Everton in the financial stakes. Sky Sports reports the 2018 CSL champion is offering Pereira a new contract worth 25 million pound ($33 million) per year.

The British broadcaster also claims the 51-year-old former Porto and Olympiacos coach has received the backing of his family to remain in China for another year.

AFP contributed to this story