Javier Mascherano: Rafa Benitez pulled me out of a hole
Javier Mascherano has hailed his former manager Rafa Benitez, who is currently in charge of Real Madrid.
The Barcelona player spoke to the magazine Panenka and was asked about his coach - now a clear rival - while at Liverpool.
Mascherano said: "I spoke to Rafa last year while he was at Napoli. Now we speak less, for obvious reasons. I have everything to thank him for.
"He rescued me from a deep, dark hole, 20 metres underground and helped me reach the very top. He's a great person and a manager you can learn from, if you really want to."
