Chelsea interim manager Rafa Benitez is the favoured successor to Jose Mourinho as Real Madrid boss among the La Liga club's membership, according to a survey carried out on behalf of Marca.
The Madrid-based newspaper says Benitez is the preferred replacement should Mourinho leave next summer, with the vote of 21.4% of socios (members). Germany manager Joachim Low came second in the poll with 19.5% and current Swansea manager and ex-Madrid player Michael Laudrup was third with 15.6%.
A report in Friday's Daily Telegraph claimed that Benitez, a former Madrid youth-team coach, had been approached by a third party with a view to taking charge at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu next season. The claim ties in with an interview given to Spanish radio station Onda Cero in December when Benitez enigmatically suggested he had held talks about replacing Mourinho.