Rafa Benitez is now set to manage former Liverpool ace Pedro Chirivella after it was announced that he’d be taking over as Panathinaikos’ manager.
The Spaniard is now in his 17th managerial job, with his last managerial stint coming with La Liga outfit Celta Vigo back in 2024.
Since leaving Newcastle back in 2019, things haven’t really taken off for Benitez as he would have likely hoped.
However, in his new job with the Greek outfit, he’s set to join forces with ex-Liverpool midfielder Chirivella.
Rafa Benitez is set to manage Pedro Chirivella at Panathinaikos
Chirivella came through at Liverpool at a time when everything was changing.
His youth career was carried out with both Valencia and Liverpool, with the Spaniard eventually making 11 senior appearances for the Reds across a whole host of competitions.
Since leaving Liverpool upon the expiry of his contract in 2017, he’s had far more success than he would have ever had at Anfield.
He ended up making over 150 appearances for Ligue 1 outfit Nantes and now, at 28 years old, he’s playing for Panathinaikos.
Benitez is now the man in charge of the Greek Super League team, which means that the duo can join forces and perhaps bring some joy back to their club.
Jurgen Klopp thought that Pedro Chirivella was a “wonderful” player
Although Chirivella only made 11 appearances for Liverpool during his career with the Merseyside club, 10 of them came under Jurgen Klopp.
The other came under Brendan Rodgers back in 2015 when the Northern Irishman handed the midfielder his Europa League debut.
Not only does this show how much Klopp liked the former Valencia youth captain, but it also shows why Liverpool chose to offer Chirivella a five-year extension before he chose to exit.
And, back in 2016, Klopp was often sharing his admiration for his players, with Chirivella being dubbed “wonderful.”
“He is a wonderful player. He is a passing player and a big, big talent,” he said in quotes relayed by The Express.
“Today he forgot to orientate himself a little bit, that’s usually his strength, knowing what’s around him.
“He is really cool and calm with the ball, but today it was not a game for [this].
“Usually it could have been a game [for it], but it’s only one game in his long, long football career, so that’s not a problem. For today, it was not too easy for him.”
Since he’s still just 28 years old, there’s still plenty of time to make the most out of his career, even if he is playing in the Greek Super League at the moment.
However, now that Benitez is there, his fortunes may turn around, and he may be able to play more regularly.
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