Mourinho to watch MLS just for Messi

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has admitted he will miss watching Lionel Messi after the Argentina superstar announced his retirement from international football.

Messi, 39, confirmed his decision on Monday after captaining Argentina to their second successive World Cup final in July.

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The legendary forward previously led Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022, when they beat France on penalties in Doha. But their hopes of defending the trophy ended in 2026 after they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final.

Mourinho, now back at Real Madrid for his second spell in charge, knows Messi well. The Portuguese manager faced the Argentine superstar during three seasons of LaLiga’s fierce El Clasico rivalry between 2010 and 2013.

Asked about Messi’s international retirement, Mourinho said there were no words to properly describe the quality of one of football’s greatest players.

Sometimes there are players you’re going to miss. We’ll have to watch some MLS matches, which is something I don’t particularly enjoy, but we’ll have to watch some to make the most of these last years or seasons, I don’t know, to see him because he’s one of those players you always miss.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho

“Talking about Messi is complicated. There’s not much more to say; there are no words to describe his quality as a player,” Mourinho said at a press conference on Thursday ahead of their LaLiga match against Real Betis on Friday.

“Even now, at this upcoming World Cup at 38 or 39 years old, he’s shown us what he’s capable of.

“Sometimes there are players you’re going to miss. We’ll have to watch some MLS matches, which is something I don’t particularly enjoy, but we’ll have to watch some to make the most of these last years or seasons, I don’t know, to see him because he’s one of those players you always miss.

“In our generation, over the last two decades, we all know what he means.”

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PHOTO: AFP FILE

Mourinho’s respect for Messi stretches back more than two decades. Their first meeting came on November 16, 2003, when a teenage Messi made his unofficial Barcelona first-team debut against Mourinho’s Porto in a friendly.

Porto won 2-0 before going on to claim Champions League glory later that season. Messi would eventually become one of the defining footballers of his generation, while his battles with Mourinho added another memorable chapter to the history of El Clasico.

In announcing his retirement, Messi admitted the decision had been painful.

“It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep in my soul but I understand that it is the right time,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I swear I always gave everything, not just in the last few years when we won everything but before that too, and I always fought and gave my all for this shirt.”

The announcement came after the death of his father Jorge in August. Messi had previously revealed he had “serious doubts” about continuing to play football for “much longer”.

Messi’s international career may be over, but his club future continues. His contract with Major League Soccer side Inter Miami runs until the end of the 2028 season, meaning fans — and Mourinho — could still have several more years to watch the Argentine icon.