Behind every great man, there is a great woman.

Things are no different for Rafa Benítez. The lady in question is his wife, Monserrat Seara, a law professor from Ourense (Galicia). In an interview with newspaper 'La Región', she spilled the beans on what it has been like to be married to the new Real Madrid boss for over 20 years.

He only thinks about football: "On our first date, Rafa explained to me what a 4-4-2 was. He finds it hard to stay away from the game. The year we spent at home he helped coach the local school team. It was hilarious. He stood on the sidelines and shouted at them as if they were first division players, waving his harms about. He doesn't see football as work, it's his passion".

On Rafa and his line-ups: "Even I don't know them. Sometimes I ask him, who's going to play? He says he doesn't know yet. They criticised him at Liverpool for constantly tweaking his starting XI. I thought his two best friends in England were going to kill him".

On his Napoli departure: Benítez cited "personal reasons" for leaving Napoli, and his wife corroborated his story. "It was hard to see each other over the winter in Napoli. There were no direct flights and it was complicated. Things will be much easier now in Madrid".

On her life as Benítez's wife: "I gave up things I enjoyed, but I gained others in terms of freedom and being able to help others. We do lots of things with disadvantaged kids in Liverpool".

She has ruled out relocating to Madrid: "Our daughters have their lives in Liverpool, their studies, their friends... They would lose that in the chaos of Madrid".

Mourinho and fate: "Real Madrid are the third of José Mourinho's old teams Rafa has coached. "We tidy up his messes", she joked. "If you think about it, of course you end up crossing paths. There are only a few world-class clubs out there".

Is he counting down to retirement?: "I don't know if he'll ever retire. All being well, he has 20 years of football left".

Read more: Real Madrid: "We tidy up Mourinho's messes" - MARCA.com (English version)