Rafa Benitez was three hours away from joining West Ham, reveals David Sullivan

Rafael Benitez came to within three hours of becoming the new West Ham manager this summer before making a U-turn and joining Real Madrid, Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan has revealed.

Benitez - who previously coached Liverpool and Chelsea - was appointed as manager of Los Blancos in June following Carlo Ancelotti's dismissal from the Santiago Bernabeu.

Benitez had announced in late May he would leave his then-club Napoli amid rumours of a switch to Real, however, Sullivan has now admitted the Spaniard was close to joining West Ham - but his decision to snub a move to Upton Park resulted in the Hammers subsequently appointing Slaven Bilic.

"Rafa Benitez was within three hours of signing for us," he told Standard Sport's James Olley.

"Every clause in his contract was agreed and then he went to Real Madrid. It was a real blow because he is a really experienced manager in England and done really well in Italy.

"We had an agreement in place but you have to pick yourself up, look who else is available and pick the best you can.

"Whoever you take is a gamble. The bottom line is we have a manager. He has our 100 per cent support. We will support him in the transfer market. We like him."

Madrid-born Benitez began his coaching career with Real's B team before developing his managerial skills at several Spanish teams including Valencia, where he won the La Liga title and Uefa Cup.

The Spaniard then took on his first job in the Premier League when he became coach of Liverpool in 2004 - steering the club to Champions League and FA Cup success during his time at Anfield.

After leaving the Reds for Inter Milan, Benitez returned to the Premier League to have a season-long stint as interim coach of Chelsea where he won the Europa League before once again departing England for Napoli.