Rafa Benitez lifts lid on Cristiano Ronaldo 'lies' and advice he gave ex-Man United player

Rafael Benitez has revealed the complications that come with being Real Madrid manager, explaining how big-name stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo contributed to his downfall in charge of the Spanish giants.

Benitez took charge of the club in 2015, replacing Carlo Ancelotti meaning that he had big shoes to fill with Real having won the Champions League a year earlier under the Italian. However, he lasted just a few months in the role despite winning 17 of his 25 matches in charge with supporter unrest and dressing room tensions the reason for his downfall.

Benitez was replaced by Zinedine Zidane, who took the club to the Champions League title following the sacking of Spaniard in January the following year. They beat Atletico Madrid in the final that season on penalties to win their eleventh European Cup and the first of three successive triumphs under the management of Zidane.

READ MORE: Uefa stance on multi-club ownership amid reported Qatar interest in United takeover

However, despite, their vindication in their decision to sack Benitez in the form of trophies, the ex-Liverpool boss has spoken out about the decision saying that he was facing a losing battle amid tricky circumstances in Madrid. In particular, he cited the management of former Manchester United forward Ronaldo and other players as being a problem which spread throughout the squad.

He revealed his version of events, quoted by Spanish radio station Cadena SER, saying: "When we arrived in Madrid, Ancelotti had just left, he had a very good relationship with the players, and it seemed that we arrived with a whip.

"There was an unfavourable environment: the departure of [Iker] Casillas, Keylor Navas, the arrest of [Karim] Benzema... There are complicated