‘Messi not the greatest ever’

Jose Mourinho has claimed that Lionel Messi is not the greatest player of all time, even if he does win the World Cup.

Argentina play Germany in the final of the 2014 tournament on Sunday, but the Chelsea boss has insisted that the Barcelona forward will not leap-frog the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele, even if he lifts the trophy.

"He doesn’t need to win the World Cup to be considered an historical player in this decade. But for me he is not the greatest player of all time.”

The Portuguese tactician was full of praise for Arjen Robben, Paul Pogba and Manuel Neuer though.

“I think Robben has been the best player of the World Cup. I think from day one until the last match he was the player who play at a high level, never ever up and down, always up.

“"I would say Pogba has been the best young player, because he had a good World Cup despite the fact his team didn’t reach the last four. I think he showed that he is a big player for the next World Cup.

“The best goalkeeper? If Neuer is so good and solid in the final as he was up until now I would say Neuer.”

The Chelsea Coach was however, critical of Spain, England, Italy and Portugal after their early exits.

“Lots of big teams disappointed, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, so many of them were below expectations and didn’t even qualify from the group stage.

“But it has been a fantastic World Cup. Costa Rica, Columbia, Chile, US, Algeria, these are the teams responsible for the beautiful World Cup.”

Tags Argentina Messi mourinho World Cup 2014
La Liga - Club News