Overview

• In the SportyNet interview published August 19, José Mourinho said Lionel Messi was the player who most drove his development as a coach, noting each meeting “made me think a lot.”
• RÉCORD reports Mourinho-managed teams faced Barcelona 27 times across competitions, with eight wins, ten losses and nine draws.
• RÉCORD also tallies 24 direct on-field meetings between the two, in which Messi scored 11 goals.
• Mourinho told Agencia EFE in 2019 that preparing to face Messi made him a better coach because it forced detailed match planning and team organization.
• He has repeatedly praised Messi’s uniqueness, saying in 2024 that the forward was essentially “not trainable” and that stopping him required collective plans rather than man-marking.