Jose Mourinho has revealed that Lionel Messi gave him “nightmares” during his first spell as Real Madrid manager between 2010 and 2013.
The Portuguese coach made the revelation in his self-titled Netflix documentary.
Barcelona thrashed Mourinho’s Real Madrid 5-0 in his first El Clasico in charge. The return meeting at the Bernabeu ended 1-1.
Barcelona later eliminated Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, while Mourinho’s side defeated their rivals in the Copa del Rey final.
Looking back at the rivalry, Mourinho admitted that stopping Messi was a key part of his plan.
He said, “I was having a nightmare. ‘What can we do to stop him?’
“From the first [El Clasico] game, I knew that we couldn’t be better than them doing the same as they do.
“To beat them, we had to be different both on and off the pitch.
“We were football enemies in the sense we fought for the same cup, the same league, the same Champions League. I think it was a good thing.”
