Benítez was critical of Mourinho during an interview he gave to Napoli's club website. The Spaniard responded to the Portuguese, who had played down what Benítez had achieved last season at Chelsea.

"Mourinho talks a lot about a lot of people, but I prefer to talk about the facts. At Liverpool we knocked his Chelsea side out of the Champions League with a team that cost half as much as his."

He also referred to Mourinho's time at Real: "He coached a very strong and expensive Real Madrid side and he left without winning the Champions League. In three years he did nothing in Europe."

Regarding Chelsea's current form, Benítez said: "Maybe if Mourinho sells Hazard and Oscar for €360m to build another team, he might win something."