Former Newcastle United defender Jesus Gamez has launched a scathing attack on Magpies manager Rafael Benitez.
The 33-year-old right back spent two seasons on Tyneside before leaving in the last summer transfer window, making just ten appearances for Benitez’s side, and the Spaniard is clearly not a fan of his compatriot.
“At the family level, the experience was very good,” he told Spanish outlet Malaga Hoy. “At sporting level, the fans and the teammates were sensational, but the coach did not understand the situations that happened and also the deal was not the ideal one.
“He [Benitez] is a person that I do not like talking about because he didn’t contribute anything to me in these two years and I have nothing to say about him.”
OPINION
Clearly there are some issues between Benitez and Gamez. The Newcastle boss signed Gamez himself so it’s bizarre that he didn’t play more football during his two seasons on Tyneside. Obviously some players simply struggle to adapt to English football and it appears that was the case with the former Malaga man. It’s always surprising to see a player come out and attack a former manager, but people aren’t always going to get on and if a player is consistently left out of the team then resentment will naturally brew. Gamez is probably right, to be honest, Benitez didn’t really contribute anything to his career. But whether the manager is the sole one to blame for that is a matter of perspective. There were probably things that the right back could have done to make his time at St James’ Park go smoother, but for whatever reason he was never able to put his stamp on the team.
