Benitez came under fire from the Italian centre back for his time at Inter Milan in an interview with France Football.
“In Italy everyone knows Materazzi, and at Inter everyone knows him,” he said. “He’s lying. He’s lying. He’s lying, just lying. Everything he has said is a lie.
“Simple. Everything he talks about: about me, about the two things he says about me when he claims he was talking to [Benítez’s predecessor at Inter José] Mourinho about me coming in, and about the pictures around the club. It’s all a lie.
“Nobody knew Mourinho was leaving after the European Cup final in 2010 and no one knew the Inter position would be available. Nobody knew I was going to Inter, even me. So it’s a lie. I went there and wanted to be professional and to respect people.”
