Jose Mourinho shares his thoughts on Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho admitted that the entire football world will always feel the absence of Lionel Messi following his international career. This was reported by Goal.com. reports .

During the press conference ahead of the La Liga match against Real Betis, the Portuguese specialist highly praised the immortal talent of the Argentine forward. Mourinho jokingly noted that he would even be forced to watch Major League Soccer, a competition he does not particularly enjoy, just to follow Lionel Messi's games.

Historical connection and mutual respect

The mutual respect between Mourinho and Messi spans over two decades. Their paths first crossed on November 16, 2003. In that unofficial friendly match, a teenage Messi made his debut for Barcelona, while the Porto team he faced was managed by Jose Mourinho.

Although Porto won that match 2-0 and went on to win the Champions League title at the end of the season, this encounter marked the beginning of the rise of a great player who would define the fate of an entire generation.

Julian Alvarez's situation at Atletico Madrid

During the press conference, attention was also drawn to the situation of Julian Alvarez at Atletico Madrid, whose potential move to Barcelona did not materialize during the current transfer window. The Real Madrid boss did not want to dwell deeply on this matter, emphasizing that Atletico head coach Diego Simeone has full authority over the team's internal affairs.

Noting the importance of professional discipline and a player's loyalty to the team after the transfer window closed, Mourinho shared his thoughts.

"In my opinion, from last night until at least December 31, he will remain an important player for his club," said the experienced coach regarding Alvarez's prospects for the coming months.

Thus, now that the summer transfer window is behind us, Mourinho expects all players who are dissatisfied or looking to move to another team to focus fully on their duties at their current clubs at least until the winter break.