Barcelona triumphs over Real Madrid

When asked if he would consider taking over at Real Madrid, Wenger said: “No. I would just like to take this opportunity to support completely Rafa, who is an outstanding manager”.

But Benitez, who only took over as Madrid coach in the summer when replacing Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, was saved from the sack as Perez revealed the club are firmly behind the Spaniard.

Perez, though, insisted the former Liverpool boss can rely on his continued support, calling him “the chosen one” despite the team sitting third in La Liga, six points behind leaders Barca after 12 matches.

Following Saturday’s 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has claimed that the La Liga and Champions League holders can still improve through the rest of the season.

After undergoing a series of tests, Brazil left-back Marcelo was diagnosed with a thigh injury, while Ramos is still suffering from a dislocated left shoulder that forced him to play with a painkilling injection on Saturday.

Fans waved white handkerchiefs – a gesture of goodbye aimed at Benitez – and chanted “president, resign”, shortly after Luis Suarez scored the fourth goal in Barcelona’s victory.

And reports in Spain had suggested appointing the hugely popular former French legend and Real Madrid reserve team coach Zinedine Zidane could help Perez ease the fans’ frustration with his running of the club.

“We have complete faith and confidence in Rafa”, said Perez. There are plenty of things we need to improve on and the players know that… they’re no fools.

“Rafael Benitez is the chosen one to bring success to this squad that since January has struggled”.

A turning point in the game was a chance that fell to Marcelo at the start of the second half which could have made it 2-1 and put Real firmly back in the game, he added.

“I wanted to see how he felt about it and in the end the decision was easy – Leo understood perfectly”. We chose Rafa with the confidence he could turn it round because he works non-stop day and night.