Former Napoli and Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez insists he had a good relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

The Spaniard had been in charge of the Merengues in the first part of the 2015-16 campaign. He was sacked in March and replaced by Zizou Zidane.

There had been rumours he clashed with Cristiano Ronaldo who joined Juventus two years later.

“Ronaldo is a professional player, a champion. He is very competitive and he used to do what I told him,” Benitez told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He had to begin the pressing, it was all about finding a good balance with his teammates. It’s not true it ended up badly, one week ago I left Madrid he was speaking with respect about our work.”

The Spanish coach went on to talk about Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus.

“I work in China and I cant’ follow [Italian football] closely. Pirlo has to manage a generational shift and win at the same time. It depends on how much time he will be given. He needs tranquillity.”