The wife of Rafa Benitez has spoken of life with the Real Madrid Coach, his possible retirement and following on from Jose Mourinho.
Monserrat Seara spoke to La Region, with her comments picked up by Marca, and offered an insight into the practices of the new man on the Santiago Bernabeu bench.
“On our first date, Rafa explained to me what 4-4-2 was. You take him away from the pitch and…,” Seara remarked.
“The year we spent at home, he was helping coach the school team. It was hilarious. He’d stand on the sides and shout as they were a Primera team, waving his arms. Football isn’t a job for him, it’s a passion.
“I never know [his team selections]. Sometimes I ask ‘who is going to play?’ He says he doesn’t know yet. In Liverpool they picked on him because he always changed the XI. I thought his two best friends in England were going to kill him. He never says anything.”
Seara continued by confirming Benitez’s cited ‘family reasons’ for leaving Napoli, as she and the couple’s children continue to live in North West England.
“It was hard to see each other in the winter in Naples. There were no direct flights. It’ll be easier now he’s in Madrid,” she acknowledged.
“Our daughters have their lives in Liverpool, their studies, their friends. We’d lose the tranquillity we have in Liverpool in the chaos of Madrid.
“[Being married to a high-profile figure meant] I gave up things I liked to do, but gained other things. We do a lot, helping children in Liverpool from disadvantaged backgrounds. These things are easier with the Benitez surname.”
Seara was asked about her husband’s tendency to follow Mourinho, having worked at Inter, Chelsea and now Madrid in the years after the Portuguese has been in the same job.
“We’re cleaning up the messes left by our friend,” she said, jokingly.
“If you think about it, it’s normal you end up coinciding. There are only [so many clubs].
“Retirement? I don’t know if Rafa will ever retire. God willing, he has 20 years of football left.”
