The former manager of European giants like Manchester United and Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho has had his say on who he thinks is the best player ever to take the football field. Interestingly, he did not pick either Ronaldo or Messi.
Mourinho has coached Ronaldo at Real Madrid and even watched Lionel Messi from close-quarters in his three-year stint at La Liga. However, when Mourinho was asked about the best player he has ever seen, he picked Brazilian legend, Ronaldo Nazario.
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Notably, Ronaldo Nazario was at Barca when Mourinho was an assistant to Sir Bobby Robson there. The Portuguese manager turned commentator insisted that although Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been consistent for a longer time, talent-wise, he has not seen anyone better than Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazario.
“El Fenomeno, Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi have had longer careers,” Mourinho told LiveScore as quoted by Marca.
“They have remained at the top every day for 15 years. However, if we are talking strictly about talent and skill, nobody surpasses Ronaldo [Nazario]. When he was at Barcelona with Bobby Robson, I realised that he was the best player I’d ever seen take to the field.
“Injuries killed a career that could have been even more incredible, but the talent that that 19-year-old boy had was something incredible. In 1997, Barcelona played against PSG in Rotterdam and Ronaldo’s goal, 1-0. Awesome,” he added.
