Messi prepares for reunion with special coach who made him ‘more competitive’

Club football often witnesses several memorable reunions, often between former teammates. The FIFA Club World Cup held in the US will witness a special gettogether next Sunday (June 29) when Paris Saint-Germain take on Inter Miami in the round-of-16 in Atlanta.

A quartet of former Barcelona players, led by superstar Lionel Messi, will face their former coach, Luis Enrique. Sergio Busquets, Jodi Alba, and Luis Suarez are the other former Barcelona stars in the Miami side that qualified out of Group A after a thrilling 2-2 draw with Palmeiras.

PSG defeated Seattle Sounders 2-0 to finish on top of Group B and advance to the knockouts. Enrique will be hoping to add a fourth trophy this season, having won the UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1, and Coupe de France.

Messi regards Enrique as a special coach who played a pivotal role in his career. "Luis Enrique has seen many players and he influenced me a lot. I already had a competitive DNA but he made me even more competitive," Messi said.

Messi and Enrique were not close initially, they had a falling out from an early training session. It was reported that Enrique was unhappy with Messi for arriving late to training and the Argentine didn't appreciate his coach's reaction either. They even had a confrontation in the dressing room but the issue was resolved.

After he left Barcelona, Enrique said there was tension between him and Messi initially. "Until the issue was resolved there was a period of tension. Which I was not looking for in any way, but which happened and needed to be managed. But today I can only say good things about Leo Messi," Enrique told Catalunya Radio in 2019.

Eventually, Messi bought into Enrique's idea of football and it gave Barcelona a period of success, between 2014 and 2017. Enrique was Barcelona's most successful manager after Pep Guardiola, winning 9 trophies, including two La Liga titles, a Champions League trophy and a Club World Cup.