JOSE MOURINHO risks the wrath of Lionel Messi if he takes the Paris Saint-Germain manager’s job, after he declared Cristiano Ronaldo was the greatest player of all time.
SunSport understands the former Manchester United, Chelsea, and Tottenham chief is being considered by PSG to take over from Mauricio Pochettino.
Ronaldo won the first of his two La Liga titles with Real under Mourinho
Messi and Mourinho have clashed a number of times but could soon be on the same team
Messi has previously described his rivalry with Ronaldo as “beautiful”
Pochettino won Ligue 1 with the Parisians but could only manage to guide the team to the last 16 in the Champions League, losing out to eventual winners Real Madrid.
And following the news that Kylian Mbappe signed a new deal which gives him powers to decide the club’s manager, Pochettino and PSG director Leonardo have been linked with the exit door.
Mourinho reaffirmed his credentials as one of the world’s best managers by becoming the first manager to win all three European Cups after guiding Roma to their first-ever European trophy in the Europa Conference League.
And if he does decide to take the plunge and enter his first managerial job in France, he may have some explaining to do to Messi about some comments he made in 2012.
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The Portuguese tactician told A Bola in 2012: “If Messi is the best on the planet, Ronaldo is the best in the universe.”
However, this was from a decade ago, and Mourinho has also given a far more neutral answer on the debate of the ‘GOAT’ since.
While in-between managerial jobs he told beIN Sports: “I think it’s unfair to both of them when somebody says this one is better than the other one. I think they are just different.
“When you go to Messi and Ronaldo, I think it’s just unfair to compare the players. The only thing I can say is that when I had Ronaldo on my side, I was a very happy man.
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“And when I had to play against Messi – and also against Ronaldo because I played against Ronaldo a few times – I had to think a lot to try and help my team have chances to succeed.”
Of course, whether Messi actually cares about the debate is another matter. Last year Messi hailed the rivalry he had with Ronaldo as “beautiful.”
Both Messi and Ronaldo changed clubs last summer, with Messi leaving Barcelona for PSG and Ronaldo leaving Juventus for a return to Man United.
Despite Ronaldo’s return and 24 goals, The Red Devils season was disastrous as they failed to qualify for the Champions League and endured another trophyless season.
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Meanwhile, Messi’s change of scenery saw him produce his worst league goal return since 2006.
Though he has only produced more league assists in five other seasons, perhaps indicating a change to playmaker as opposed to goalscorer.
