Mumbai: Jose Mourinho, the former Manchester United and Chelsea manager, believes that Barcelona and Juventus not winning the UEFA Champions League this season would negate the chances of favourites Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from winning the title.
While Juventus crashed out of the competition at the hands of in-form Ajax in the quarter-finals, Barcelona was stunned after their 3-0 lead was wasted in the second leg where they lost 4-0 to Liverpool, who went on to win the title.
Mourinho states that winning titles is an important aspect of becoming the best in the world and that talent alone doesn’t guarantee a Ballon d'Or in the present era.
Adding on the importance of winning important matches and sustaining victories, Mourinho further stated that he’d be calling Messi or Ronaldo the winner of the trophy had Barcelona or Juventus won the UCL title.
On the other hand, Liverpool star Virgil Van Dijk, a likely contender for the trophy who has had a terrific season with the club, also winning the Champions League, revealed on his twitter handle that he would still pick Lionel Messi ahead of himself despite the fact that the Argentine didn’t win the UCL title.
