“I was sacked.”
Rafa Benitez isn’t hiding from what happened during his time at Real Madrid.
The former Liverpool manager hit out at the club and its president Florentino Perez about events that unfolded during his brief time in charge at the Bernabeu.
Benitez, who spent seven years of youth playing days with Madrid and before taken their B team as his first job, was left ‘frustrated’ by the hands on approach he felt from the powers that be above him and, in an explosive interview on BT Sport, he admitted that the interference is a big reason why they haven’t been able to keep up with Barcelona of late.
“It’s not easy to be the manager there. As soon as something is wrong, or they think – the chairman thinks – that something is wrong, you start having problems.
“My assistant Fabio Pecchia was saying that you have a permanent presence with the chairman (Perez). He’s around, he’s stuck in with the players, he’s stuck in with the press so he’s always around. It’s not easy for a manager.
“To win the league, you have to be consistent. And then you have to fight against Barcelona. Barcelona has a style of football, a model of football, and then Real Madrid is changing managers every year and you have to start again. That is the reason why Real Madrid has won one league title in the last seven. Barcelona have won more than double the trophies of Real Madrid in the time that the chairman is there and I think it is because they are consistent.”
