Rafa Benitez Says Rivalry with Jose Mourinho Is 'All Finished Now'

Rafa Benitez once waged verbal war with Jose Mourinho, but the Spaniard has said his rivalry with the self-anointed "special one" is now behind both men.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Benitez explained what was behind some of the pair's more infamous spats when they locked horns as rivals in the Premier League: "He was doing what he had to do, and I was doing what I had to do. That was the reason why Liverpool were competing against a club spending double or triple the money we were spending. But that's all finished now."

Benitez, who is at the helm of Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang after leaving Newcastle United in the summer, was referring to the period when he was in charge of the Reds and in direct competition with Mourinho's Chelsea from 2004-07. While Mourinho and the Blues held sway domestically, it was Benitez and Liverpool who laughed loudest in Europe.

Liverpool beat Chelsea in two UEFA Champions League semi-finals when the two managers pitted wits. The first was in 2005, a game defined by the so-called 'ghost goal' when Luis Garcia struck a disputed winner for Liverpool despite William Gallas appearing to clear the ball off the line at Stamford Bridge.

It's a result that has continued to haunt Mourinho during subsequent years:

More heartbreak was in store two years later when Liverpool won on penalties to again leave Mourinho and Chelsea fuming in the last four. These high-profile encounters became the catalyst for a rivalry that would become increasingly personal over the years.

Animosity reached fever pitch when Benitez's wife Maria de Montserrat said "we tidy up his messes" in 2015, per FourFourTwo. Mourinho's response was typically barbed and withering: "I think the lady needs to occupy her time. If she takes care of her husband’s diet she will have less time to speak about me."

Mourinho also accused Benitez of destroying the "best team in Europe" in reference to the latter succeeding him at Inter Milan in 2010. Mourinho had guided the Nerazzurri to a treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League titles earlier that year with a talented, albeit ageing and expensive squad.

Benitez's attempts to refresh things ended with him being sacked just over six months after taking the job.

A brief and similarly ill-fated spell followed at Real Madrid in 2015. Mourinho had also struggled while in charge of Los Blancos, although he did win a La Liga title in 2012.

Benitez had no such chance when he was dismissed to make way for Zinedine Zidane midway through the 2015/16 campaign. Speaking about his time with Real, Benitez described to FourFourTwo how outside factors contributed to his downfall: "The fans were against the president, and that was the key point," he reveals.

"As soon as the fans are upset with the decisions at the top, the manager is under pressure. People don’t remember that we were only two points behind Barca, that we scored eight goals against Malmo and 10 against Rayo Vallecano, and that we had finished top of our Champions League group ahead of Paris Saint-Germain."

Prior to his exit from Real, Benitez's familiar foe had already been shown the door for a second time by Chelsea. Mourinho was also sacked by Manchester United in December 2018 to cut short an inconsistent and troubled tenure.

Things have changed dramatically for both men since. Mourinho is back in the Premier League after being named Tottenham Hotspur boss on Wednesday:

Meanwhile, Benitez would be open to returning to England's top flight, although no approach has yet been made amid links to West Ham United, per Sky Sports News.

Like Mourinho, Benitez has also often relied on a pragmatic approach to the game. He also has his own impressive track record of success, having won the UEFA Cup and La Liga with Valencia, the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool and a Europa League trophy at Chelsea.

The chance to renew a rivalry with Mourinho could make coming back for a third spell in England an even more attractive proposition.