Rafael Benitez Maudes, known as Rafa Benitez was born in Madrid on April 16, 1960. Rafa worked his way up the Real Madrid reserve teams, playing first for Castilla U-15 and eventually, the Real Madrid U-18 team where his team won the Spanish Championship. While playing on the reserve teams, Rafa was studying at the INEF earning his degree in Physical Education. In 1979, while playing for Real Madrid’s third team, Rafa was invited to play in the “Universiada”, which is an Olympic style game played with students from around the world. Rafa and his team were playing in Mexico when he suffered a knee injury. After taking six months off to recover, Rafa moved around from team to team, but never fully recovered from his injury. Rafa’s football career and aspirations were over and he ended his career at age 26.
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Rafa only coached with Real Madrid for six months, when his contract was ended. In March, 2016, Rafa signed a three year contract to be the new coach of Newcastle. Rafa is currently married to his wife, Maria de Montserrat and they have two daughters, Claudia and Agata. They live in a $4 Million mansion in Wirral on a clifftop with panoramic views of the River Dee.
Rafael has an estimated net worth of $60 Million. It is rumored that his newly signed deal with Newcastle will include a $4 Million Pound salary.