MADRID: Rafael Benitez will take charge of Real Madrid next season after the club confirmed he had signed a three-year deal with the Spanish giants on Wednesday. “Real Madrid will present today, Wednesday, June 3, Rafa Benitez as the new coach of the first team for the next three seasons,” the club said in a statement. Benitez will give a press conference at 1100GMT at the club’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The appointment brings Benitez’s coaching career full circle as he returns to the club where he made his first steps as a youth team coach in the early nineties. Benitez is also returning to Spain for the first time in over a decade after making a name for himself with two league titles in three years at Valencia between 2001 and 2004. However, commentators and fans have been skeptical at his appointment at the expense of the well-loved Carlo Ancelotti, who was sacked by the club last week. Ancelotti ended a 12-year wait to land Madrid’s much desired 10th Champions League last season, but paid the price for failing to deliver a major trophy this season with eternal rivals Barcelona on the brink of sealing a treble. Moreover, Benitez has…