I do find it mad that there’s an assumption that Benitez has been cruelly holding back a dedicated, committed professional who has been dying to get on the pitch and bleed blue despite all the evidence to the contrary from the end of last season. Basically, manager after manager have seen through him, right up to his national boss. Even his “Dad” Ancellotti didn’t take him to Madrid again. He’s just simply unreliable, be that because of attitude or fitness, he has illustrated time and again he simply can’t be counted upon and is not worth the wages he still thinks he is. The fact that he’s basically going to the Zingari of the Desert at 30 yo is evidence of this. He’ll just pull the same stunts with his new employers.