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Rafa Benitez has hinted strongly he will leave Napoli at the end of the season to rejoin his family on Merseyside.

And that has added fuel to the speculation he would love a return to former club Liverpool, after being made a 6-1 favourite to replace current Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.

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.

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

Opinion:

“My wife and two daughters live in Liverpool. It’s the first time I haven’t had them with me, it’s not easy. [Napoli owner Aurelio] De Laurentiis knows how important my family values are to me,” he explained.

(Image: Action Images)

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.

Rodgers has also endured a difficult start to the campaign, with his side off the pace in the Premier League, though speculation Liverpool’s owners are considering his position have been dismissed as completely wide of the mark.