Real Madrid timed Rafa Benitez sacking to minimise pay-off, says former club president

The sacking of Rafa Benitez has been crudely timed to minimise the amount of compensation due to the deposed Real Madrid manager,

At least that's the view of former club president Ramon Calderon. The Spaniard was released by the club in rather unceremonious fashion and replaced by Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane. And Calderon believes that the desire to save the world's richest club a few quid was the key driver in the decision to dump the former Liverpool manager, just a few weeks after he received the full backing of current president Florentino Perez. “They sacked Benitez now because before January 15, they have to pay only one year's salary. After that, they have to pay two. That is the truth,” Calderon told talkSPORT. “They have done it now because of only that. Only one month before the chairman said Benitez was the solution and not the problem.”