Barcelona legend Andreas Iniesta didn’t mince words when criticising former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, stating that he almost ruined the national team.
Iniesta was still at Barcelona while the Portuguese helmed matters for the Los Blancos for 3 seasons.
According to Iniesta, the atmosphere Mourinho created threatened to create a rift between the Spanish players who played for the rival clubs.
Mourinho and Pep Guardiola developed a fierce rivalry while the latter was in charge of the Catalans and this sometimes went a little too far with physical altercations becoming the norm. Speaking on the matter, the Spaniard said: “You don’t have to be for Barcelona or Real Madrid to know that the situation was unpleasant.
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“And the key component in that story was Mourinho. Whoever doesn’t want to see that, is radical.
“You didn’t see the rivalry that always existed before, it went beyond that, you saw hate. That atmosphere developed and it was unbearable.
“The Barca-Madrid tension caused by Mourinho did much damage to the national team [Spain] and the teammates.”
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The Mourinho/Guardiola rivalry has continued in England with both managers in charge of the Manchester clubs and just like in Spain, it seems, Guardiola is winning the battle again with Manchester City being more dominant in the time both managers have stayed in their respective clubs.