I've signed Benitez! Napoli president claims he has snapped up outgoing Chelsea boss as birthday present

Posted Saturday, May 25, 2013 by

Rafael Benitez is poised to join Napoli on a two-year contract, the Italian club' s president Aurelio De Laurentiis claimed on Friday.

Sportsmail understands that a two-year deal has been discussed with Benitez, who is currently in New York preparing for his final game as Chelsea' s interim boss.

De Laurentiis was more bullish about the move, saying last night: 'I've given myself a birthday gift, I've signed Benitez.

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'I'll make it official in the next few days as Benitez needs to end things with Chelsea. He'll have a two-year contract, no longer. We need to get to know each other first, then we'll see.'

Spaniard Benitez would replace Walter Mazzarri, who left the club after their 2-1 loss at AS Roma in their last game of the season on Sunday.

Italian reports said there was a meeting in Rome on Thursday where representatives of Napoli and Benitez reached an agreement on a two-year contract worth £3m a year.

However, De Laurentiis later tweeted: 'Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the messages. Regarding a coach, nothing is official yet. A bit more patience needed.'

It is a good move for Benitez, who won the Europa League with Chelsea last week and secured a Champions League spot for the London club with a third-placed finish in the Barclays Premier League.

Mazzarri was sacked despite Napoli finishing runners-up to Juventus in Serie A and qualifying for the Champions League.

Benitez takes charge of his final game tonight when Chelsea meet Manchester City here.

City won the first game of the Ame r i c a n double-header between the sides 4-3 in St Louis on Thursday.

Chelsea keeper Petr Cech has been impressed by the job Benitez has done. 'Rafa has worked hard from day one and tried to do his best for us and the club,' he said. 'He is now leaving with a European trophy, which is great for him.'

As Benitez leaves, the club's players ar e already looking forward to the expected return of Jose Mourinho.

Cech added: 'He is a great manager and I think that everybody rememb e r s h o w successful we were with him here. If he can reproduce that again, I think everything will be fantastic.

'He might come with a slightly different way than last time, let's see. But it will be great to see him back and hopefully he can reproduce the success.