Rafa Benitez was absolutely certain when naming the one player he has ever trained, and it wasn’t Cristiano Ronaldo.
During his impressive 38-year career as a manager, Benitez has coached some of the world’s greatest teams, including Liverpool, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
During this time, the Spaniard has had the opportunity to manage players like Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.
And yet, Benítez did not hesitate to ignore all of these players when choosing the greatest player he coached during his career.
speaking on It was what it was Podcast, Benitez revealed that he believes Steven Gerrard is the best player he has worked with.
“He is the best player I have ever coached,” he said.
“He was very nice and in the beginning when we knew each other.”
Benitez was then asked: “You trained Ronaldo. Do you think Steven was a better player?
To which the 64-year-old replied: “In terms of a complete player. Stevie has power, he can score goals, good in the air, both feet, can shoot from distance, short, take penalties, deliveries, corners, free-kicks.
“To defend, if it was necessary. He had energy, trained well and was a good professional. The thing with him is that he was a box-to-box midfielder from the beginning and he was gradually understanding the game.
“He had a lot of potential and he got better later on in terms of positioning and decisions. But he was great from the beginning.”
Steven Gerrard and Rafa Benitez teamed up to win the 2005 Champions League. (Image: Getty)
Gerrard worked under Benitez for six years at Liverpool, making 292 appearances for the manager and winning the FA Cup and Champions League simultaneously.
Despite this, the Liverpool legend admitted that he and Benitez have not been in touch and do not maintain a strong relationship.
Gerard writes in his autobiography revealed: “I can pick up the phone and talk to all my previous Liverpool managers except Rafa.
“It’s a shame because we shared the biggest night of our careers – the 2005 Champions League win, outside Istanbul – yet there is no bond between us.”