Former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has compared managing Lionel Messi to his time coaching NBA legend Michael Jordan.
- Messi vs. Jordan
- Valverde says coaching Messi is not complicated
- Messi always “gives everything” for Barcelona
what happened? In a recent interview with Relevo, the former Barcelona coach (now in charge of Athletic Bilbao) was asked if managing a legendary player like Messi is “complex”.
what did they say: “No,” Valverde replied. “In the end, you see, when you go to a club like this, it’s easier if you make assumptions about who you’re going to work with. Really, you have to take into account who is who. Messi is a player who you know will give you everything. He went on to compare managing Messi to NBA legend Jordan. He believes that, as was the case with Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, Messi has taken on so much responsibility at Barcelona that it’s not as easy for a coach to motivate him. Difficult. “At the end of the day, they are players who are capable of taking leadership, they are different,” he added.
Big picture view: Valverde coached Barcelona for two and a half seasons from 2017 to 2020 and led the club to two La Liga titles. However, he never really won over the Barca fans and there was speculation at the time that not all Barca stars warmed to him.
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What’s next for Messi? : Messi has made a brilliant start to his career at Inter Miami but he missed his third straight game on Saturday with a leg injury. Miami suffered a blow to their MLS play-off hopes with a 1-1 draw at New York City.