Lionel Messi may be stepping away from international football, but Jose Mourinho knows the game will feel different without him.
The Real Madrid boss has admitted he will miss watching one of football’s greatest-ever players after Messi confirmed his Argentina retirement this week.
At 39, Messi captained Argentina to another World Cup final this summer, adding another extraordinary chapter to a career that already includes the 2022 World Cup triumph.
His decision to leave the international stage has now triggered tributes from across the football world.
Mourinho, who is back in charge of Real Madrid for a second spell, knows Messi particularly well from the intense El Clásico battles between Madrid and Barcelona.
The Portuguese coach faced Messi during three seasons in LaLiga between 2010 and 2013, when the rivalry between the Spanish giants reached extraordinary levels.
Asked about Messi’s international departure during his news conference on Thursday, Mourinho made it clear that the Argentine’s absence will be felt.
“There are no words to describe his quality as a player,” Mourinho said on Thursday in a news conference, when asked about Messi’s departure from the international stage.
“With what he did at the World Cup, at 39 years old … He’s a player we’ll miss. We’ll have to watch some MLS games to enjoy his last years, I don’t know if will be a season, or seasons.
“He’s one of those players who, as I said the other day, you always miss. This [player], for our generation, over these last two decades, we all know what he represents.”
Mourinho was speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s LaLiga clash with Real Betis on Friday, with Madrid making a perfect start to the campaign by collecting nine points from their opening three matches.
However, the press conference also turned towards a difficult issue involving defender Raul Asencio.
Asencio was convicted of drink driving on Wednesday after being stopped by police in Gran Canaria last month.
The 23-year-old is also facing trial over allegations concerning the distribution of sexually explicit videos involving a minor.
Mourinho explained his position while the club’s disciplinary process continues.
“I spoke to him when I arrived, about things in the past,” Mourinho said . “At [Madrid’s training ground] Valdebebas, I’d say he’s an exemplary professional. When he’s been fit, nobody has trained better than him. Since being injured, he’s been the first to arrive, and the last to leave.
“But a Real Madrid player is a Real Madrid player 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year. What you do outside your profession is still Real Madrid, and it hurts Real Madrid’s prestige, which is untouchable. What I’m saying is that I’m not happy. Everyone makes mistakes, but a series of mistakes is something else.
“The club has begun disciplinary proceedings, and for me as coach, while that process is ongoing I see him as a Real Madrid player. He’s injured, and he will be injured for a few weeks, minimum.”
Mourinho will now turn his attention back to LaLiga, with Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis next up for Madrid.
Pellegrini and Mourinho have a history stretching back to their first spells in Spain, including a public war of words during Mourinho’s time at the Bernabeu.
This time, however, Mourinho chose reflection rather than confrontation when asked about their old feud.
“In the past there are moments, things you say or do, and you feel like an idiot,” Mourinho said on Thursday, when asked about the row.
“You feel you made a mistake. I had some words, some comments, that were very stupid, and I’m not proud of … He’s a great coach for me, an example as a coach, and a person. I like him a lot.”
For Mourinho, the Messi era is clearly one he would rather savour than see disappear.
And with the Argentine now approaching the final years of his playing career, even one of football’s fiercest managers appears ready to simply appreciate the genius while it lasts.
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