Jose Mourinho Named Best Player ‘He’s Ever Seen on a Football Pitch’

Jose Mourinho once named the best player ‘he’s ever seen on a football pitch’ – but the current Real Madrid boss snubbed both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the process.

Mourinho has made no secret of his admiration for both Ronaldo and Messi over the years.

The revered Portuguese tactician worked with his compatriot Ronaldo at Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, although they didn’t always see eye-to-eye at the Bernabeu.

Indeed, Luka Modric revealed that Mourinho even made Ronaldo cry in the dressing room on one occasion.

That said, Mourinho will always be grateful for the incredible contribution that Cristiano made under his management during his first spell at Real Madrid.

As for Messi, Mourinho admitted the 2022 World Cup winner is the one player he would loved to have managed. He also described the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the “God of football”. Praise doesn’t come any higher.

Despite that, there’s one legend who Mourinho said is the “best football player” he’s ever seen on a pitch.

And were it not for injuries, this player would almost certainly have been part of the debate over the greatest football players of all time.

That player is, of course, Ronaldo Nazario – the Brazilian, and the original, Ronaldo. In 2023, Mourinho told LiveScore, via The Sun, of R9:

Mourinho agreed that R9 lacked the same longevity as Ronaldo and Messi but suggested his natural ability was off the scale.

“Not with a career like Cristiano or Messi, 15 years at the top – every day,” Mourinho said. “But a natural talent, incredible.”

Image via Reuters

It’s remarkable that Ronaldo Nazario managed to come back from two career-threatening knee injuries and was still lethal in and around the penalty area during the latter years of his career.

But Mourinho witnessed Ronaldo up close during the Brazilian’s breathtaking 1996-97 season at Barcelona, where he scored 47 goals in 49 games.

Blessed with extraordinary speed, close control, trickery, and agility, Ronaldo was like nothing football had seen before when he burst onto the scene in the 1990s.

While he still ended his career with his status as an all-time great secured, there will always be a question of ‘what if?’ over the Brazilian.

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