The 'stormy' relationship between Rafa Benítez and Real Madrid is well known. The coach landed at the Santiago Bernabéu in the 2015/16 season as successor to Carlo Ancelotti, the current Merengue coach who was fired at the time, and his time on the Madrid bench was 'plagued' by controversy. The Madrid native lasted barely 7 months and one day in office after a series of negative results, a thrashing in the Clasico (0-4), and a complicated relationship with the squad.
After the 'thrashing' received in the clash against an FC Barcelona without Lionel Messi and the early elimination from the Copa del Rey due to the improper line-up of Cheryshev, who had to serve a sanction and which resulted in the disqualification of the club, Florentino Pérez opted to dismiss him. Benitez was also involved in speculation that he had several clashes with the most influential figures in the White House during his time there, such as when he tried to get Modric to avoid using the outside of his foot or tried to teach Cristiano Ronaldo to improve his free kick execution.
The figure of Rafa, champion of the Champions League in 2005 with Liverpool, is still highly questioned in the capital, and the coach seems to still have a 'thorn' over the way things went during his time in Madrid. Almost 9 years after his dismissal, the former coach of clubs such as Inter Milan or Valencia revealed a new, and very controversial, detail about his time at the Viking entity.
The brutal 'stick' to Cristiano and the club
In an interview given to former footballer Jamie Carragher, Benitez confessed who is the best player he has trained, and launched a 'dart' at Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo in the middle. "Steven Gerrard is the best player I have ever coached. When I was at Real Madrid I couldn't say that, but now I can. I'm very clear about it. He had everything," he said. It is important to remember that the Portuguese was at the peak of his career when Rafael took over and not 'surrendering' to him was frowned upon within the institution, so his words make it clear that the Madrid leadership is putting pressure on them to 'praise' their own and belittle the rest.