Jose Mourinho has claimed that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo do not need the help of World Cup titles to prove that he is the best in the world right now.
Both these players have been regarded the finest in the world over the last five years. They have won numerous FIFA Ballon d’Or award and other accolades in order to prove that is the case. However, one blemish from their record is the absence of the World Cup title, which the previous winners of this award have won.
Messi and Ronaldo have not even appeared in the final of a World Cup, but that is not a major problem according to Jose Mourinho. Mourinho is thought to have fallen out with Ronaldo after the pair appeared not to enjoy a harmonious relationship during his final few months at Real Madrid. However, it seems that they both have made up their differences because Mourinho has been talking a lot about Ronaldo in recent months. At the same time, Mourinho has recalled that the likes of Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane were held in such high regard because they managed to win the ultimate accolade for a footballer as a team – the World Cup.
“He [Messi] is great, he is great. I don't think he needs to win with Argentina to be great. Ronaldo is great; I don't think he needs to be world champion with Portugal to be great. There is always a but - (Diego) Maradona did it, and (Zinedine) Zidane did it, and Ronaldo Nazario and Rivaldo did it. Many of the big guys did it, so everybody is waiting for them to do it,” said Mourinho, who has also been speaking about his player Eden Hazard winning the title one day. He thinks Hazard has the capability to become the best.