Man Utd news: Jose Mourinho plays down rift with Rafa Benite

JOSE MOURINHO has played down suggestions there is any lingering bad blood between him and Rafa Benitez.
The two managers clashed several times when Mourinho was in his first spell as Chelsea boss and Benitez was in charge of Liverpool.

Chelsea beat the Merseyside club in the League Cup final of 2005 but Benitez got his revenge by knocking the London club out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage later that season with what Mourinho described as a “ghost goal” by Luis Garcia.

And Liverpool repeated the semi-final triumph on penalties in 2007.




The pair continued to trade insults with Benitez following Mourinho into jobs at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea.
But ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Newcastle – their first clash in the Premier League since 2010 – Mourinho insists he respects the Spaniard.

He said: “I don’t play Rafa, I play Newcastle. And Rafa doesn’t play me, he plays Manchester United. That’s the point.

“I’m really good at forgetting little things in football, bad words or moments of conflict. I’m really good at forgetting that.
“The important thing is respect for the professional and person – I respect him in both ways. He is with me in one privileged list of few managers in Europe to have won the Champions League and Europa League, so we are side to side in that little group.

“I have immense respect for him. I will be more than happy to see him and salute him and play one more match. It is just one more match.’

Source:www.express.co.uk