It’s no secret that Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Benitez didn’t have the best relationship. The Real Madrid superstar, who scored the winner against Barcelona in Sunday’s El Clasico, was a big fan of former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti and made no secret of his disappointment in seeing him leave.
But the extent of Ronaldo’s less than positive attitude towards Benitez has been revealed by Spanish newspaper El País. According to the publication, when Benitez first arrived at the Bernabeu, the former Liverpool and Chelsea manager instructed one of his coaches to send Ronaldo a USB drive containing videos and images which would help the three-time Ballon d'Or winner improve on losing his man.
However, Ronaldo did not take too kindly to the Spaniards coaching method and apparently had a strong message for his former manager.
“Tell Benitez that I’ll send him a USB drive with all my goals on it for him to study,” he reportedly said.
Considering the Real Madrid superstar currently has 43 goals in 43 games, we’re not surprised he was upset.
The spat between Ronaldo and Benitez is just one of many high-profile fallouts Benitez has had with big names in the teams he’s managed. The Spaniard also fell out with Xabi Alonso at Liverpool and John Terry at Chelsea. Considering Ronaldo is Real Madrid’s golden boy, it’s no surprise Benitez was sacked after just six months in charge of Los Blancos.
Now the manager of Newcastle United, Benitez is facing an uphill battle to keep the Magpies in the Premier League, having lost 3-2 to Norwich on Saturday. Newcastle currently sit second from bottom on the table and are looking more and more likely to go down at the end of the season.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, has enjoyed a much better spell as of late. The Portuguese forward, who had been criticised for a recent drop in form, silenced critics on Sunday by scoring a late winner against Barcelona in a 2-1 win at Camp Nou. The goal ended Barcelona’s record run of 39 unbeaten games and brought Madrid within seven points of the top of the table. But with just seven games to go, it’s looking less and less likely that anyone will be able to stop Barcelona from claiming yet another La Liga title.
