Rafa Benitez. My hero, my mate.

With news surfacing today that Rafa Benitez won't be extending his contract as manager of Newcastle United, I can't help but feel sorry for the man.

In my opinion, Rafa is one of the most underrated managers in world football. Had it not been for some terrible club owners that he's had to deal with, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have gone on to win pretty much every trophy going.

A legend at Liverpool FC, the Spanish manager would go on to deliver the 5th European Cup to the club back in 2005. Until this season when Klopp made it 6, it was Liverpool's greatest achievement over the last 14 years.

If that wasn't enough, Rafa connected with the fans on a level that most managers simply wouldn't do. Moving back to Liverpool, his new home, even after he was sacked by the cowboys who ran the club at the time, he would go on to donate £96,000 to the Hillsborough Family Support Group in honour of the 96 Liverpool supporters who sadly lost their lives.

Reds around the world love the man himself and the incredible manager that he is. The same can be said for Newcastle supporters who have taken him in as one of their own. Although he'll always be a Red, I didn't begrudge them that. Newcastle is a proper football club with passionate supporters.

Yet, they suffered in the same way Liverpool did. A pathetic excuse of an owner who claims to want the best for the club but does everything in their power to ruin its chances of success.

At Liverpool, Rafa was expected to deliver in a way that most managers would find impossible. He was trying to compete with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea but was working with a mid-table budget. He was expected to sell to buy but the owners failed to realise that this tends to lead to a one step forward, one step backwards kind of situation.

Nevertheless, he created a team in 2008/09 that was one of the greatest Liverpool sides I'd ever seen until Klopp's current team was created:

Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio; Mascherano, Alonso, Gerrard; Riera, Kuyt, Torres

With just a couple of upgrades to the front three, that team would have gone on to smash all in its sight. However, Rafa was never given the budget to do that and we then saw the team fall apart. Arbeloa and Alonso departed for Real Madrid, Mascherano moved to Barcelona, and Torres lost the love of the Kop by moving to Chelsea.

Rafa's era at Liverpool was over.

Skipping over a couple of relatively successful stints at Chelsea and Napoli, Rafa finally got his move to Real Madrid. As a person who was born in Madrid, this must have been quite the honour for him and his family.

Yet he was treated like dirt by the supporters and club hierarchy, despite having a ridiculous win rate of 68%. I can't say it's a surprise. The two big Spanish clubs are perhaps the worst in world football for that kind of thing. Nevertheless, it left a sour taste in my mouth as I watched my hero treated as if he was a second rate manager.

On to Newcastle, the man stuck with them through relegation, bringing them straight back up to the Premier League where they belong. With what is pretty much still a Championship level team, he has kept them up for 2 seasons and rightfully told the owner that he needs more money if they want the club to progress.

Without those assurances, Rafa was always going to walk away. He's been through this before and knows how it ends. And that's exactly what has happened. Mike Ashley, intent on pissing off the Newcastle supporters even more than usual, was not willing to provide the funds or control over transfers that Rafa required.

And there you have it, Newcastle are probably destined for a relegation battle this coming season. I feel incredibly sorry for the supporters who will be fuming at what has yet again turned into a circus.

As for Rafa, he'll always be my hero.

A Liverpool legend, the man who gave us Istanbul.