John Terry took a swipe at Liverpool when clashing with Rafael Benitez at Chelsea | OneFootball

Highlights

John Terry has lifted the lid on his relationship with Rafael Benitez when the pair worked together at Chelsea, describing how they nearly came to blows at one point. Things got so heated between the pair in the exchange that Terry even made a brutal comment about Premier League rivals Liverpool during the exchange.

There was an element of surprise among the Stamford Bridge faithful when Benitez took over following the sacking of club icon Roberto Di Matteo. Not only had the latter only recently guided them to a first Champions League in the club’s history, but there had been several huge clashes between the Blues and Benitez during the manager’s time at Anfield.

While the Blues experienced domestic success in the 2000s, lifting two league titles during the Spaniard’s time in Merseyside, they had less success against the Reds in European competition. Benitez’s Liverpool knocked them out of the Champions League semi-finals twice - once in 2007, and then infamously in 2005 when Luis Garcia scored a ‘Ghost Goal’ to send Liverpool through.

Benitez’s time at Chelsea

That, combined with his verbal battles with Blues legend Jose Mourinho, meant that Benitez was never truly accepted by Chelsea fans when he arrived. Supporters at games were noticeably hostile towards him whenever they got the chance, booing him and branding him 'The Interim One'.

However, the coach did a remarkable job after his appointment in November 2012. Although the Blues were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages, Benitez did guide them to Europa League glory and third place in the table. Hardly a terrible achievement.

Terry recalls clashing with Benitez after FA Cup elimination

However, it was not just fans who couldn’t accept Benitez taking charge at Stamford Bridge, with one of the old guard not happy about his appointment either. Terry, already regarded at that point as a Chelsea legend, found himself out of the team despite being the club captain.

That season, the former centre-back would only play 14 times in the league, settling for a spot on the bench more often than not under the new coach. It was something that he wasn’t used to at that point, with the skipper playing most matches whenever he was available.

And his temper boiled over after one game between Chelsea and Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. The west London club lost the tie 2-1 on the day after goals from Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero, with Terry an unused substitute.

Unsurprisingly, the defender and the rest of the squad were fuming after their elimination. But Terry has now revealed something Benitez said which nearly started a scuffle in the changing room.

Given that Terry won multiple Premier League titles, FA Cups and also a Champions League less than a year before that match, you can understand why he was so angry with Benitez for that statement. He revealed he had to be restrained by his teammates because he was that angry, and then revealed a brutal comment he made about Liverpool to the former Reds boss.

A touch unfair perhaps, given that Benitez did guide Liverpool to the pinnacle of European football in 2005. But still brutal nevertheless, given the Reds’ Premier League title drought at the time. Check out the video for yourselves below:

Watch: Terry reveals what he said in confrontation with Benitez

It’s not the first time that Terry has spoken about his relationship with Benitez, with the legendary centre-back speaking in 2020 about his time under the Spanish coach. Although he described how he was initially excited to work with the ex-Liverpool man, that gave way to disappointment quickly.