‘We have a Geordie meltdown in progress’- Twitter Reacts As Newcastle Make Rafa Benitez Announcement

In a shocking announcement, Newcastle United informed that Rafa Benitez will be leaving the club when his contract expires on the 30th of June.

In his 3-year spell with the club, he managed to win promotion at his first attempt while overseeing two full campaigns where the Magpies showed intermittent promise of something bigger and better.

Joining in March of 2016, he failed to rescue the team’s plight as the severely underperforming squad dropped down to the Championship. But a sparkling season in the second tier led to an immediate promotion. And in the following two seasons, he managed to infuse a sense of positivity and pride at St James’ Park despite operating on a severely restricted budget.

Truth be told, the Spaniard was forced to perform his duties amidst a cloud of uncertainty with Mike Ashley’s indecision regarding his own future at the club cutting across the footballing scene.

The prolonged takeover saga seemed to be finally heading to a conclusion this summer though, with Abu Dhabi based Bin Zayed Group confirming concrete interest in a £350m takeover.  This led to hopes that Benitez will be tied to a long-term contract during which he will oversee the transition of Newcastle United attempting to build a squad capable of challenging for the top honours in the future.

But progress on that front has been painstakingly slow and with the news today, the fans are rightly aggrieved and have understandably lashed out at Mike Ashley on Twitter while professing their appreciation for the outgoing manager.

Let us take a look at a few of them.