Mourinho even went so far as to say that playing against Messi was an honour because of his unmatched football intelligence.
In a recent and open confession, Jose Mourinho threw some light to the fact that Lionel Messi, though he was never on his team, made him a much better manager. His brilliant adversary sat on the other bench, stuffing Mourinho with the necessity to raise the level of his tactical prowess to the point that every encounter is not only a show of his ability out on the field but also of his patrons in the area of strategic planning and layout of a defense.
Mourinho admitted that Messi would have been born into the world with genius of football unsurpassed, his ability to play the game having come to him naturally and that his gift was so assembled that he became a football coach on a learning curve. He bemoaned the fact that this kind of player does not need a coach, watching Messi play allows one to get a feel of football that is most pure. The strategist commented how it would have been an honour to train Messi since the soccer player could even make experienced managers learn a thing or two simply by being on the pitch.
However, when they were expected to bring out who should be considered the real Greatest of all time (GOAT) between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the professionalism of Mourinho was broken particularly his exasperation was apparent. The question obviously hit him close to home and the emotional reaction was acute, which shows the sensitivity and the absurdity with which he perhaps relates to this never ending argument.
It is indicative of a longer philosophy of Mourinho, one that greatness is defined not by statistics, or titles, but by the impression on the game, the shudders which one feels touchline to touchline. By requiring adoration and resisting such unthinking appraisals, Mourinho again has proven why he will always be one of the most interesting and vocal personalities in football.
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