Jose Mourinho overlooked both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when asked to identify the greatest player he’s ever witnessed on a football field.
Known as the self-proclaimed ‘Special One,’ Mourinho is no stranger to extraordinary talent.
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Over the course of his illustrious 24-year managerial career, he has worked with some of the finest players in the world at clubs such as Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Manchester United…Continue Reading
However, before those high-profile roles, Mourinho served as an assistant at Barcelona under the legendary Sir Bobby Robson.
It was there that he encountered Ronaldo Nazario, widely considered one of the most electrifying players in the game at the time.
Even after more than two decades, Mourinho still regards the Brazilian as the best footballer he has ever seen, and he quickly named Ronaldo when asked to choose the greatest player he had witnessed.
“Ronaldo, El Fenomeno,” he told Live Score. “Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have had longer careers, they have remained at the top every day for 15 years.
“However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo. When he was at Barcelona with Bobby Robson, I realised that he was the best player I’d ever seen take to the field.”
Mourinho added: “Injuries killed a career that could have been even more incredible, but the talent that that 19-year-old boy had was something incredible.”
Mourinho isn’t the only prominent figure to heap praise on Ronaldo Nazario.
AC Milan icon Paolo Maldini, considered one of the greatest defenders in football history, was once asked to select the top three players he had encountered over his 25-year career.
During that time, Maldini faced some of the sport’s finest, including both Ronaldinho and Ronaldo Nazario.
Interestingly, both players named Maldini as the toughest defender they ever faced. Ronaldinho remarked on how Maldini made defending “seem effortless,” while Ronaldo, his former Milan teammate, shared a similar sentiment.
In fact, in a recent documentary based on Ronaldo titled ‘The Phenomenon’, Maldini named the former Brazil striker as one of the three greatest player he ever seen during his career.
As well as Nazario, the former Italy captain named Argentine duo Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona in his list.
