Jose Mourinho names Barcelona legend Lionel Messi as the one player he would have liked to coach

It has been barely a month since Jose Mourinho was relieved of his duties as the AS Roma head coach.

The Portuguese is one of many highly successful managers available in the market right now, alongside the likes of Antonio Conte and Hansi Flick.

Although it is unlikely Mourinho will be an option for FC Barcelona this summer, as confirmed by sporting director Deco recently, the former Chelsea manager has recently praised former Barça superstar Lionel Messi.

Mourinho on Lionel Messi

Mourinho was asked to name one player he would have liked to coach during his managerial career.

The Portuguese did not even hesitate to name Lionel Messi. “Messi. I never got to train Lionel Messi, but then nobody can train Messi,” said Mourinho (h/t Football-Italia).

Mourinho wanted to coach Messi (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

“It is absurd to think you could coach him because he was born with everything and already knows everything. He might teach you some things. All you could say is that you had the honour of having him in your squad,” the coach added.

Although Mourinho has never coached Messi, it must be noted that he had actually started his managerial career at Barcelona.

The 61-year-old had served as an assistant manager from 1996 to 2000 before he eventually joined Benfica as a head coach. Messi would join the club a few years later.

Mourinho has had the opportunity of managing some of the most gifted stars in football. That list includes Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Frank Lampard, Iker Casillas and Mesut Ozil, among others.

Mourinho’s leadership at Real Madrid helped Ronaldo become a competent nemesis of Messi and the two have been dominating the world of football ever since.