Top five managers Lionel Messi has played under

The 37-year-old has played under many top managers in his career.

Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi has performed for some of the best coaches in the world and is perhaps the best player to have ever kicked a ball. We’ve made the decision to examine his performance under each of them.

The Argentine superstar has played under eleven different club managers during his illustrious 15-year career at Barcelona, PSG and now Inter Miami, scoring as many goals and dishing out plenty of assists, and taking home almost every trophy imaginable.

Let’s have a look at the top five managers who have been influential in Messi’s career:

5. Alejandro Sabella

Alejandro Sabella was the closest person in the past 30 years to winning the World Cup for the Albiceleste. Perhaps more significantly, he came very close to solving the unsolvable puzzle of how to bring out the best in Lionel Messi while he plays for his country.

Messi recovered from a disappointing season at Barcelona with a strong showing at the 2014 World Cup, winning four Man of the Match awards and guiding his team to the final of the World Cup, where they were defeated 1-0 by Germany. Sabella left a lasting impression on Messi’s career.

4. Frank Rijkaard

Frank Rijkaard was Lionel Messi’s first professional club coach at Barcelona, where he helped Messi score 110 goals and dish out 10 assists.

Messi made his Barcelona debut at the age of just 17, making him the third-youngest starter in the team’s history. Given that Rijkaard handed him his debut and a spot in the first team, it makes perfect sense that his influence was the most important. Messi’s introduction at the age of 17 was a daring move on the part of the Dutchman, and his brilliance was well worth the trust.

3. Ernesto Valverde

After Barcelona lost to Atletico Madrid 3-2 in the Supercopa de Espana in January 2020, Ernesto Valverde was fired, bringing an ugly end to his tenure at the club.

We shouldn’t overlook what Barcelona accomplished during Valverde’s two-and-a-half-year reign, even though people still recall the Champions League disasters against Roma and Liverpool.

In each of Valverde’s two complete seasons, the Catalan powerhouses won two trophies, including the LaLiga championship. Lionel Messi excelled under the Spanish manager. Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, scored an absurd 96 goals in 104 games over his two full seasons at the Nou Camp under Valverde.

2. Luis Enrique

It should be mentioned that Messi was performing at his peak under Enrique. The forward saw an increase in his goalscoring average since Luis Enrique took over at Barcelona in the summer of 2014, despite their early arguments.

In addition to leading Barcelona to their second triple, he was able to create great chemistry between Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar on the pitch, who all excelled under his leadership as Messi went on to win the Ballon d’Or.

1. Pep Guardiola

When Guardiola took over as manager of Barcelona at Camp Nou in 2008, he was lucky enough to inherit a team full of elite players. Under the strict Catalan coach, Messi would become a superstar and one of the most formidable attackers the world has ever seen.

Over the course of four seasons, Messi’s productivity rose annually under Guardiola. In his final season under the current Manchester City manager, he scored 73 goals across all competitions. Between 2009 and 2012, the Argentine sensation also took home four consecutive Ballons d’Or.

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