“I called him first then my mother” - Dybala says Jose Mourinho has special love for Lionel Messi and Argentina as he recalls World Cup final incident

Paulo Dybala has revealed that his first call after the World Cup win was to Jose Mourinho. He added that the AS Roma manager loves Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team. The forward also claimed that he had five missed calls from the Portuguese manager when he entered the dressing room after the final win over France.

Speaking to journalist Gastón Edul, Dybala said that Mourinho has great affection for the Argentines. He added that the former Chelsea manager has wonderful things to say about him, Angel di Maria and Messi. He said:

"When the final against France ended, I was in the traditonal doping room, then I get to the locker room, I grab the phone to talk to my family and I had 5 missed calls from Mou. I think I called him first then my mother. He was very happy because he loves Argentines. He always says wonderful things to me about Di María, and Messi too, he loves him. He has great affection to all the Argentines."

Dybala has played 46 matches under Jose Mourinho at AS Roma and scored 20 goals. He has also assisted 11 times and is a key part of the starting XI at the Serie A club.

Jose Mourinho has always praised Lionel Messi

Jose Mourinho hailed Lionel Messi as the 'God of Football' in an interview.

The former Real Madrid manager revealed that Messi was the most dangerous opponent he has ever faced. He stated that it was impossible to mark the Argentine and said in an interview in 2015 via (talkSPORT):

"Messi is the most dangerous opponent I've ever had. Every time I had to face him, I spent hours and hours thinking about how to stop him collectively, because it's impossible to mark the man."

He praised the Argentine in 2019 as well and said (via talkSPORT):

"Messi is Messi. I'm not saying he's 'The Special One' of this week because he's 'The Special One' of all time. He is the God of football. We'll cry when he retires."

Mourinho reportedly came close to managing Lionel Messi when Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) sacked Mauricio Pochettino. However, the Portuguese manager stayed at AS Roma and the Ligue 1 champions appointed Christopher Galiter in Lionel Messi's final season at the club.