On Boxing Day we lost 4-0 at Anfield and Man City lost 2-1 at Leicester.
Liverpool were a clear six points top of the table and Rafa said we would "probably" get relegated.
Obviously he was looking for funds in the January transfer window, but perhaps he really did mean it.
However, fortunes change. Liverpool may have blown their title chances, and Newcastle are safe.
Cardiff were relegated from the Premier League as Crystal Palace's away-day specialists won 3-2 in the Welsh capital.
Neil Warnock's side needed to win their final two games to have a chance of overtaking Brighton, who enjoyed a four-point advantage and a far superior goal difference heading into the penultimate weekend.
But clinical Palace played the familiar role of executioners as Wilfried Zaha, Michy Batshuayi and Andros Townsend scored, with Cardiff replying through a Martin Kelly own goal and Bobby Reid's stoppage-time strike.
Cardiff, as has so often been the case this season, were not short of commitment and energy, just a lack of quality, which has been their undoing this season.
Going back to Boxing Day ....
Goals from Dejan Lovren, Mohamed Salah, Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabinho did the damage as Liverpool’s chances of a first English top-flight title since the 1989-90 season were boosted by Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Leicester.
Tottenham were Liverpool’s closest challengers with City dropping seven points off the pace in third.
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez – an Anfield idol himself after delivering the Champions League trophy in 2005 – claimed that Newcastle surviving relegation this term would be “a miracle”.