Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has opened up about his troublesome relationship with former Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho, who compared the Frenchman to a "cat" during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Mourinho famously labelled Benzema a "cat" back in 2011, a year after the striker had joined the club, hinting that he would have preferred a better striker at the club.
"If I can't hunt with a dog, I will hunt with a cat," he said when asked about Benzema at the time.
"With a dog, you hunt more and you hunt better. But if you have not got a dog and you have got a cat, you hunt with a cat."
Six years later, the now 29-year-old striker has spoken about his relationship with his former manager.
"We always had a good relationship," Benzema told Canal+, as quoted by AS.
"But after that, there were expressions and statements that were not necessarily well intended.
"I had the impression that it made him laugh. Even if he's someone I respect, after a while, I started to lose it.
"I told him what I had to say, which took an hour. 'I'm a football player, you're my manager, I respect you, respect me as a player.'
"From then on, there were no cats, no dogs or anything. I'm shy but if you make fun of me, I'll be straight. When you speak your mind, things are always better."
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Benzema has scored 183 goals and assisted another 105 strikes in 377 games for Los Blancos, while Mourinho left the club in 2013.
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