Rafa Benitez has opened up on his nightmare spell as Real Madrid manager, claiming he had to pay for the 'unfavourable environment' he walked into.
Benitez took charge of the Spanish giants in the summer of 2015 but was dismissed just seven months later following a rollercoaster tenure that while wasn't a total disaster on the pitch was chaos behind the scenes.
The former Liverpool, Newcastle and Everton manager left the club with Madrid just two points off the top of the table.
But a falling out with many stars including key players set the path for a rocky tenure before he was axed at the start of 2016.