Rafa Benitez says he told Newcastle United in May that he was planning to leave.
The new Dalian Yifang coach formally left Newcastle last week when his contract expired.
He told the Daily Mail: "I would like not to talk too much about Newcastle United because we need to move forward.
"They need to think about the new season and I have a great challenge ahead of me.
"But I will say after the meeting in London on May 16 it was a clear decision for me and a few days later we told the club that we would not extend the contract."
