Chelsea: John Terry remembers snapping at Benitez over “unacceptable” speech

Benitez’s surprise arrival in 2012 saw Terry lose his place in Chelsea’s lineup.

John Terry has opened up on a furious exchange with Rafael Benitez during the Spaniard’s short spell at Chelsea.

Following Roberto Di Matteo’s exit in 2012, Chelsea decided to replace the Italian manager with Benitez. The Spaniard returned to the Premier League, where he had previously spent a highly successful spell with Liverpool.

Terry was one of the players that were quickly excluded from Chelsea’s lineup after Benitez’s arrival. Speaking on John Obi Mikel’s podcast, the Blues legend revealed the moment that his frustration with Benitez peaked.

“I was on the bench against Man City and I think we lost 2-1 but we came in after the game and he addressed the group and said, ‘ah guys it doesn’t matter, we’ve got another big game at the weekend’,” Terry said.

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

“I was like ‘f***ing hell, that’s accepted? No chance that’s accepted’. He accepted us losing to Man City and I was across the dressing room coming towards him and all of the lads are pulling me back and he’s now walking towards me and we’re trying to get at each other.

“I was like ‘no, that’s not accepted at Chelsea – maybe at Liverpool it’s accepted to lose a quarter final but at Chelsea that’s not accepted’.”

Benitez left Chelsea after spending less than six months at the club. His exit was quickly followed by Jose Mourinho’s return for his controversial second spell at Stamford Bridge.