ENGLISH Four REASONS why Benitez was SACKED Jan 5, 2016 Four REASONS why Benitez was SACKED Rafa Benitez sacking did not come as a surprise to many. He has struggled at Santiago Barnabeu, a place where a manager is expected to hit the ground running almost immediately. Several reasons may have led to his dismissal and here are some of them.

4. Benching James Rodriguez :The situation of attacking midfielder James Rodriguez at Real Madrid at the moment must have been one of the reasons why Rafa Benitez was shown the door. A player who was signed for €80 million in the summer of 2014 seating on the bench when the team is struggling is not acceptable. Rodriguez has played only 9 games in La Liga out of possible 18 so far this season.

3. Barcelona 4-0 thrashing: We all watched in shock as Barcelona humiliated Real Madrid 4-0 at Santiago Barnabeu. It was a shame to everybody associated with the capital club. What was even disturbing was that Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema did not show any fighting spirit at all. The team looked disjointed and in total shambles. Reports about Rafa Benitez sacking surfaced immediately after and it have continued ever since. Finally it happened.

2. Copa del Rey drama :Real Madrid was thrown out of Copa del Rey after fielding ineligible player Denis Cheryshev against Cadiz in the last 32 first-leg stage of the competition. “Cheryshev was ineligible to play … so Madrid have forfeited the game and the tie is resolved in favor of Cadiz.” Read a statement from the Spanish FA. It is shocking and unimaginable to think that a club of Real Madrid stature can make such a horrible error. Cheryshev was banned during his loan spell at Villarreal. The rules are clear that such a mistake leads to straight suspension and that is exactly what happened. It was unacceptable and Rafa Benitez and his technical team were to blame for such a mistake. He had to pay with his job at some point.

1. Fallout with Cristiano Ronaldo :The relationship between Rafa Benitez and Cristiano Ronaldo was reportedly bad ever since he took over from Carlo Ancelotti. Reports about disagreement between them started in pre- season and continued into the season. They both denied having problems working together but cracks were certainly evident. When Benitez was given the job unconfirmed reports claimed that he wanted to build the team around Gareth Bale. If this is correct, it might be the reason why Ronaldo has not enjoyed scoring goals this season as compared to other seasons. Rumor about his departure has been in the news since the season started and he has not come out strongly to deny. Ronaldo is a star and any manager coming to the club has to take that very seriously.