John Terry had to be pulled back from Rafa Benitez in Chelsea dressing room row after brutal Liverpool dig

John Terry has revealed he had to be "pulled back" from Rafa Benitez after aiming a Liverpool dig at him.

Benitez had a brief stint in charge of Chelsea back in the 2012/13 season following the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo mere months into the season.

But because of his strong Liverpool links, there was widespread animosity with his appointment as interim boss.

He received a hostile reception in his first game in charge against Manchester City, which finished in a 0-0 draw.

And it was another fixture with City led to a bust-up between Chelsea's legendary former captain Terry and Benitez.

Terry was dropped for the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against City, who ended up winning 2-1 win courtesy of goals from Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero.

Image: Getty

He didn't take it well but fumed at Benitez when he didn't like his passive manner following the defeat.

According to Terry, he called Benitez out in front of everyone and directed a Liverpool dig.

"We played Man City in the FA Cup, and he wasn’t playing me, so we were at loggerheads, arguing on the training pitch," he said on former teammate John Obi Mikel's 'Obi One Podcast'.

"He was leaving me out of the team, leaving me off the bench, but I insisted on travelling with the team. I was on the bench at Man City, and we lost 2-1.

'We came in after the game and he addressed the group and said 'oh well guys, it doesn’t matter, we have another game at the weekend'.

"At the time, you could feel Man City were doing something, and I’d just had enough.

"I said 'Is that accepted? No chance. You’ve accepted us losing to Man City'.

"I’m across the dressing room, all the lads are pulling me back, he’s now coming towards me, and I just said ''that’s not accepted at Chelsea. Maybe at Liverpool losing a quarter-final (semi-final) is acceptable, but at Chelsea that’s not accepted'.

Despite never having the support of the fans, Benitez went on to guide Chelsea to a fourth-place finished and finished his spell with a Europa League win.

He was then hired as Napoli manager shortly after and has since managed Real Madrid, Newcastle, Dalian Professional, Everton and current employers Celta Vigo.

Topics: Rafa Benitez, John Terry, Chelsea

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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