Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was going to sack Carlo Ancelotti even if he won the Champions League last season, according to former Juventus director general Luciano Moggi.
Ancelotti was fired by Madrid last month after finishing the 2014-15 campaign without a major trophy, before being succeeded at the Santiago Bernabeu by Rafa Benitez.
It was suggested that Ancelotti -- eliminated by Juventus in the semifinals -- had to retain the Champions League in order to keep himself in the job, but Moggi claims Perez had already made up his mind about the Italian.
"Florentino told me that he wanted to get rid of Ancelotti even if he secured a Champions League win for Madrid," he told Radio CRC.
"Benitez was lined up to be the replacement and Florentino knew this for quite some time, irrespective of what the club would have you believe."
Moggi, who worked at Juventus for 12 years, does not believe Benitez is the right man for the Madrid job, pointing to his struggles during his time at Napoli and the frosty relationship he shared with Marek Hamsik.
"Benitez has not convinced me, he has been unable to harness certain players' potential and the situation with Hamsik is a case in point," he said.
"For other reasons too, but let's not forget that Napoli finished the Serie A season in fifth position."