Digne escalates bitter Benitez row with fresh barrage following Everton exit

Lucas Digne has intensified his hostile relations with Rafa Benitez by accusing the former Everton manager of "protecting himself" with made-up claims to the media.

Digne, 28, left the Toffees to join Aston Villa in the January transfer window after a bitter disagreement with Benitez which resulted in his exclusion from the matchday squad. The left-back had been one of Everton's most important players following his arrival from Barcelona in 2018 but Benitez dropped him and later explained this was because he was "thinking about leaving".

The Spaniard also accused his player of putting individual statistics ahead of the team and he was duly sold for £25million to the club's Premier League rivals. In his parting message to the Goodison Park faithful, Digne said: "Sometimes it only takes one person from outside to destroy a beautiful love affair."

And in a fresh tirade against Benitez, the France international has declared the allegations made against him are completely false and he "never asked" to leave. "It was a way for him to protect himself. I never asked for that," Digne told L'Equipe. "People who know me at the club know that everything was going very well." The former Roma and Paris Saint-Germain star also confessed his relationship with Benitez was "not good" but credited compatriot Raphael Varane, who plays for Manchester United, with helping him through the "unprecedented situation".

"I lived three and a half years of happiness and love with the (Everton) supporters," Digne added. "I had, and still have, a great relationship with them, with people at the club, my former teammates. But I don't look back. Football is like that. One day everything is fine, the next month it is less so. And you have to make decisions.

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"When you are part of the framework, there are discussions with the coach. The relationship we had was not good. It was complicated to be excluded from the group for a month. It was an unprecedented situation in my career.

"But I had my family and my teammates with me. also saw Raphael Varane quite often, as we lived nearby. I took it upon myself. I continued to work on the side, to be behind my friends. I have never refused to play."

Digne has made eight appearances for Villa since his mid-season switch, contributing one assist. He was an unused substitute as France defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 last Friday and will hope to feature in some capacity as Les Bleus take on South Africa in another international friendly on Tuesday night. Benitez, meanwhile, was sacked a matter of days after Digne was sold, meaning he lasted just six months as Everton manager.