If he was waiting for the Newcastle job he'd have probably seen out his final year at Dalian. Or at least said he was taking a break for a while rather than intimating he's looking for a quick return to management. I think people are putting two and two together here, but his departure from China has probably got nothing to do with us.
Balague's said he's taking a break, but I haven't seen that confirmed/denied by Rafa himself.