Source: PA
Benayoun blames Benitez for Anfield exit
Yossi Benayoun has singled out Rafael Benitez as the reason he left Liverpool for Premier League rivals Chelsea, accusing the Spaniard of trying to break him and treating him with a lack of respect.
Benayoun, who joined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee on July 2, blames Benitez - who has also left the club for Inter Milan - for his decision to leave Anfield.
He told the News of The World: "I made up my mind to leave a long time ago because of Benitez. He never treated me with the respect I deserved.
"If I played well, I never felt he gave me credit. When I scored, I still expected to be out of the team the next game. And when the fans wanted me to play, Benitez told me he couldn't understand why."
The 30-year-old continued: "He tried to destroy my confidence. You can't treat a player like this and expect him to be happy. I felt so unhappy but, out of respect to the club, I never spoke out. The players and the people at the top of the club knew how I felt."
"I don't want to speak on behalf of other players at Liverpool, but people know what happened to Albert Riera and Xabi Alonso. It was the same for me. Benitez tried to break me like he broke Riera. I felt he was waiting for me to make a mistake so he could use it against me."
