Rafael Benitez appointment at Real Madrid let slip by vice-president

Rafael Benitez: Expected to be named the new Real Madrid boss

Real Madrid vice-president Eduardo Fernandez de Blas has accidentally let slip at the meeting of a fans' group that Rafa Benitez will be the new club coach.

Benitez will leave Napoli at the end of the season and has been hotly tipped to take over from Carlo Ancelotti at the Bernabeu.

Real have yet to name Ancelotti's successor but an offhand comment during a club event on Saturday evening appears to have confirmed the former Liverpool manager's arrival.

Carlo Ancelotti was sacked by Real Madrid

"Ancelotti is an absolute phenomenon and we give him all our appreciation," Fernandez de Blas told the Madrid members' group.

"Until three days ago he was the best trainer in the world as two years ago it was Jose Mourinho and from this week onwards it will be Rafa Benitez."

Guillem Balague discusses the possibility of Rafa Benitez taking the managerial reins at Real Madrid. Guillem Balague discusses the possibility of Rafa Benitez taking the managerial reins at Real Madrid.

Italian Ancelotti was dismissed a year after he ended 12 years of Champions League failure and led Real to a record-extending 10th European crown, as well as a Copa del Rey triumph.

Former Liverpool and Chelsea boss Benitez, who once had a stint as a Real youth team coach, is expected by local media to be named on Wednesday as the new man at the helm.