Jose Mourinho says eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi had biggest impact on his career, ahead of Fenerbahce UEFA Champions League play-off

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Legendary manager Jose Mourinho has revealed that eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi had the biggest impact on his career, ahead of Fenerbahce's UEFA Champions League campaign. The Turkish giants will resume their campaign when they face Benfica in the play-off first leg on Wednesday. Victory across two legs will be enough to see them enter the league phase of the competition.

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Jose Mourinho has revealed that Lionel Messi was the player who improved him the most as a coach, despite never managing the Barcelona legend.

Mourinho’s Real Madrid side went head-to-head with the iconic Barca team that Messi spearheaded, and were even able to win the La Liga ahead of the Catalan club during the 2011/2012 campaign.

The 62-year-old Fenerbahce manager looks unlikely to ever manage Messi now that he is in the twilight of his career at Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.

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But Mourinho insists that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has still had a huge influence on him.

"Messi, because every time I played against him, he forced me to think a lot," the two-time UEFA Champions League winner told Sporty Net when asked who had the biggest impact on his career.

However, the Portuguese coach refused to call the Argentina forward the greatest of all time, insisting that it is an unfair debate due to the changes in sports science.

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Messi has often been compared to his long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who Mourinho did coach during his time in the Spanish capital.

However, Mourinho believes the stars of years gone by like Pele, Eusebio and Franz Beckenbauer could have given Messi a run for his money if they played in the modern day.

"I think it's unfair, and when I hear someone say it, I feel something I don't like," he added.

"The younger generations know, but they don't know Pele, Eusebio, or Beckenbauer in depth, and then compare their football to today's and today's conditions.

"There are even some slightly comical details. Forty years ago, when it rained, the ball weighed 10 kilos, now it flies."

Mourinho’s Fenerbahce side will resume their Champions League campaign this week when they face Benfica in the first leg of the play-off round on Wednesday.

The Turkish giants reached this stage of the competition with a 6-4 aggregate victory over Dutch side Feyenoord.

Victory over Benfica would see Fenerbahce book their place in the league phase.

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