MADRID, 3 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The new RC Celta coach, Rafa Benítez, stated this Monday that he has Gabri Veiga for next season, as he considers him “an important player” for the club and “would be delighted if he continued for many years”, at the same time that he confessed to having rejected up to 20 offers before opting for the bench of the Galician entity.
“Veiga is an important player for this club, and of course, I would be delighted if he continued with us for many years, and that he did just as well. It would be the illusion of all. I count on him, and he is a player who is in the squad and I will try to improve it during the time that he is with me. What will happen in the future? Nobody knows, but I like it a lot”, commented Benítez during his presentation as the new sky-blue coach.
The Spanish coach was “very happy” to arrive at Celta, something that did not involve “a great effort”, since he considers that it was “quite easy” to convince him. “I had a project in my head, and although in football projects last three weeks if you lose three games, the reality is that the things that the club told me, and the conversation with Carlos (Mouriño, president of RC Celta ) was very positive along the lines of what I was looking for, a two-three year project,” said the coach.
Benítez’s objective is to “compete from the first moment”, something that he hopes to do through a very clear idea, “controlling” everything his team does in the sports field. “The fans ask for more and more, but the reality is that you have to move in a market where there are a series of limitations. You have to think game by game, to try to make the club grow globally, doing things with common sense”, added the Spanish coach.
Rafa Benítez will be the coach of RC Celta in the year of its centenary, something that for him is “a source of pride”. “I hope that when I finish my time here, that the club, that the team will be better, that I have contributed my experience, if that is the case, it will be a great satisfaction”, he commented.
RC Celta will be the fifth team that Benítez has led in the highest category of Spanish football. “Going back to the Spanish League, where I have enjoyed so many years, and being able to contribute something, but with the idea that you are going to be listened to, that you are going to have a good work team and that the club has ambition, I think it is a great advantage,” he said.
“I hope that the centenary lays the foundations for Celta to grow at a structural level, at an economic level and at a sporting level,” said the man from Madrid.
The former manager of Liverpool and Real Madrid also addressed the “many” offers received since he stopped being Everton manager in January 2022. “I’ve had many, I don’t want to brag about anything, but I’ve had more than 20 offers in all this time, many of them in other continents. However, after having been in China, in Italy, in England and in Spain, you try to be in one of the major leagues, being close to my family”.