Rafa Benitez has now revealed why Newcastle United were forced to sell a player who only featured 25 times for the club.
Newcastle have come a long way from the side which Benitez was in charge of during their days in the Championship with the Spaniard.
Eddie Howe has now established the Toon firmly in the top half of the table with the Magpies pushing for a regular spot in Europe.
Last season saw Newcastle fall just short of a Europa Conference League spot and they will be looking to now make some improvements over the summer transfer window.
But Newcastle will need to offload some players this summer if they are to meet the PSR deadline.
Looking back on his time at St James’ Park, Benitez has now revealed why he was forced to sell one of his players who he had joined back in 2017.
Rafa Benitez shares real reason Newcastle player had to be sold
During his time on Tyneside, Benitez was able to return the Toon back to the Premier League following their relegation in 2016.
Having returned to the top flight, Benitez was able to bring in Mikel Merino on an initial loan in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund.
The deal for the Spaniard was made permanent just months later before leaving the next summer after putting pen to paper on his deal.
Merino joined Real Sociedad with a belief the deal to see him return to his homeland cost the Spanish side around £10m.
Looking back on the 27-year-old who is still playing for Sociedad, Benitez revealed the reason why Newcastle had to sell Merino just months after signing him.
“It was a special situation because it wasn’t easy to get players from Dortmund to Newcastle then. But we told him our ideas, we convinced him to come and made sure he was comfortable,” Benitez told The Athletic.
“We had to give him a promise that he could go in the future to a Basque club [close to where Merino was from]. You know that Athletic Bilbao only sign Basque players and at Real Sociedad, the majority are also Basque.
“It’s a good market for anyone who can access these players because you know you will sell them for a good price. He would not have come without that €12m [£10m] escape clause. He was the youngest of the three players. You could see he had class, but he also needed more time.”
Newcastle have since taken Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad
Merino made a good start to life at Newcastle despite playing just 25 games. Newcastle legend Alan Shearer hailed his short time on Tyneside.
“He’s had a good start, the fans like him,” Shearer said. “He’s good on the ball, tidy. [Benitez] likes him. He’s done well,” Shearer told True Geordie back in 2017.
However, Newcastle have been able to get one over the Spanish side since through signing their Swedish striker Alexander Isak.
The 24-year-old has proven to be an incredible buy from the Toon, but to be fair to Sociedad, they have certainly got their £10m out of Merino has now played 242 times for them.
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