Erstwhile Man U Boss Mourinho praises Messi, names him 'god of football'

Portuguese Manager Jose Mourinho, currently out of job, hails Messi's amazing performance in Barcelona's 3 - 0 routing of Liverpool inside Camp Nou - Getty

Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho hailed Lionel Messi as the "god of football" following  Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Liverpool.


Messi struck twice in the second-half of the
Champions League semi-final first leg at Camp Nou as Barca beat Liverpool by the same scoreline they defeated United in the quarter-final second leg.

Liverpool remarkably had more possession than Barca but could also have lost by a greater margin.

"Liverpool was brave in the approach," Mourinho told Russia Today.

"I don't think in the past 20 years many teams in the Champions League beat Barcelona in ball possession in the Champions League.

Messi's perfectly curled free-kick against Liverpool was his 600th career goal

"God of Football made it completely different. Of course [Barca] have a good team, phenomenal players, but that player is absolutely incredible.

"Liverpool deserve much more than the 3-0 defeat but in the last two corners of the game it could be 4-0 or 5-0, because the game was broken and then they couldn't cope. The question is which Barcelona will we have when Messi decides to say goodbye."