Rafa baits Jose, had no problems with Abramovich

Matt Stead

Rafael Benitez has aimed yet another barb in the direction of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, and has stated he has “no problem” with club owner Roman Abramovich.

Benitez and Mourinho have a long rivalry with one another dating back to their times at Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, while Benitez also usurped the Portuguese as manager of the Blues, Inter Milan and now Real Madrid.

When asked by Spanish radio station La Cope to describe his feelings on three former Real managers, Benitez once again revealed more ill feeling towards the current Chelsea boss.

Presented with a picture of current Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini picture, Benitez said: “A great coach and a great person. I have a good relationship with him and he is great as a manager and a person,” and when shown a picture of Carlo Ancelotti he replied: “Carlo is a friend and he is a good coach and a good person.”

Aware that Mourinho would be the next manager to be revealed, Benitez joked: “Let’s just leave it there.” The picture was then shown to the Spaniard, who said: “A great coach… and there we will leave it.”

The reporter then asked: “And you are not going to say ‘good person’?”, to which Benitez replied: “I am free to have my own opinion am I not?”

Benitez was then asked about Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. The Russian ran the rule over Benitez during his temporary spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, but Benitez said: “I never had a problem with him. We won the last European trophy that Chelsea has won and got them into the Champions League.”