Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez was on the verge of taking over at Premier League club West Ham in the summer before the La Liga giants came calling, according to owner David Sullivan.
The Hammers, who are set to move into London’s Olympic Stadium next season, were looking to replace Sam Allardyce with a high profile name to lead them in what will no doubt be an exciting new era for the east London side.
Speaking to the Evening Standard newspaper, Sullivan revealed Benitez was the man they ha targeted and so advanced were the talks that pretty much all the fine print in the contract had been sorted.
“Rafa Benitez was within three hours of signing for us. Every clause in his contract was agreed and then he went to Real Madrid,” he stated.
He added: “It was a real blow because he is a really experienced manager in England and he did really well in Italy. We had an agreement in place but we had to pick ourselves up, look who else was available and pick the best we could.”
In the end, the Upton Park side went for former Croatia boss Slaven Bilic – and the owner said everyone is happy with the final choice they made.
“Whoever you take is a gamble. The bottom line is that we have a manager. He has our 100 per cent support. We will support him in the transfer market. We like him.”
