Former Chelsea captain John Terry said Rafa Benitez was “definitely not” the best manager he ever worked with.
The Blues legend’s feud with the Spaniard is highly documented, as the pair never saw eye to eye during their short spell together at Chelsea in the 2012-13 season.
Benitez enjoyed a relatively successful eight months as Chelsea boss, taking over the reins from Roberto di Matteo and guiding the Blues to a third place finish and the Europe League title.
However, this was often achieved with Terry out of the starting line-up, as the five-time Premier League winner only made 14 league starts for the west Londoners.
And Terry highlighted his still lingering resentment when he was asked who his favourite Premier League manager was.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Do you think Rafa Benitez will ever manage in the Premier League again? Comment below
“Definitely not Rafa Benitez, that’s for sure,” Terry quickly replied when talking to the Ape Kids Club.
Albeit not quite as brusquely, Terry has previously opened up on the fractious relationship he and the former Liverpool boss shared during their brief time together at Stamford Bridge.
"We just didn’t get on from day one personally, to be honest,” Terry said to the Sky Sports ‘Off Script show’.
"Every meeting we had it was, 'Oh we used to do this at Liverpool and we done this'. You laugh but that’s what he used to be like, 'Just move a yard here'.
"I actually had to have a few conversations and say, 'Gaffer, you have to forget Liverpool, you can’t keep saying ‘we’, you’re at Chelsea now, it’s not going down well with the lads'”.
Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba also offered a fascinating insight into how Benitez and Terry used to come to blows in the Chelsea dressing room.
“Big players will take responsibility on the pitch but also off it when things don’t go the right way,” Ba said to the Athletic.
"I remember when we lost 2-1 to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, Rafa was criticising our lack of intensity after the game.
“But John Terry went: ‘No gaffer, the problem is that our training lacks intensity.’ Rafa’s training was mostly tactical, but the players wanted it to be more full-blooded.
"So the two of them had a frank exchange of views in front of everyone, and the next day, the whole team got together to talk things through as well. We didn’t lose any more games after that.”
Terry may have also cracked a wry smile when Benitez was sacked from his position at Everton.
Benitez endured a tumultuous six months at the Toffees, which saw fan protest immediately greet his appointment at the club.
As well as the discord amongst the Toffees’ fan-base, Benitez also had to deal with a transfer budget squeezed by financial fair play restrictions, as well as a squad of players who endured injuries at the worst possible time.
Benitez was sacked after a dreadful run of one victory in 14 Premier League matches was culminated by a humiliating 2-1 away loss to relegation strugglers Norwich City.
Benitez was recently replaced by Frank Lampard, a player he also coached at Chelsea and a very good friend of Terry’s.
