José Mourinho, now in charge of Fenerbahçe, recently gave an interview in which he was asked which player forced him to grow the most as a manager. The Portuguese coach’s answer surprised many, as he did not pick a star he had coached, but rather a figure who always stood on the opposite side of the pitch.

Mourinho’s Choice: Lionel Messi

After a brief pause, Mourinho revealed that the player was none other than Lionel Messi. The coach explained that every time he faced the Argentine, he had to rethink his tactical schemes and go beyond conventional strategies:

“Every time I played against him, he forced me to think a lot,” Mourinho admitted.

The Portuguese tactician faced Messi more than 20 times during the forward’s golden era at Barcelona, when Mourinho managed clubs such as Chelsea, Inter Milan, and later Real Madrid.

The Impact of Messi on Mourinho’s Tactics

Mourinho acknowledged that facing Messi’s Barcelona pushed him to design more detailed game plans and come up with innovative ways to neutralize his talent. That constant challenge, he confessed, marked a turning point in his development as a top-level coach.

Mourinho’s Illustrious Career

Regarded as one of the most decorated managers of his generation, José Mourinho has won two UEFA Champions League titles — with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010 — along with league championships in Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain.

Over his career, he has coached world-class players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Didier Drogba, and Frank Lampard. Yet, ironically, the player who pushed him to evolve the most was never under his command but always lining up as a rival: Lionel Messi.