Inter Miami's Jordi Alba Names 'Best Manager in the World' - It's Not Pep Guardiola

Jordi Alba is one of the best left-backs of his generation and has worked under a host of top managers during his illustrious career. The 36-year-old has now revealed the coach he believes is the best in world football.

Alba joined Barcelona in the summer of 2012, weeks after Pep Guardiola’s shock departure at Camp Nou, and was first coached in Catalonia by the late Tito Vilanova. Over the next 11 years, the Spain international played under the likes of Luis Enrique, Xavi, Ernesto Valverde, Gerardo Martino and even his former teammate Xavi.

At his previous club, he was coached by Unai Emery, while he’s now managed at Inter Miami by another ex-Barcelona teammate, Javier Mascherano. While most people connected with Barcelona would argue that Guardiola is the best manager in world football - a sentiment shared by countless fans around the globe - Alba sees things differently.

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Spaniard believes Luis Enrique currently leads the way

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Ahead of Inter Miami’s Club World Cup Round of 16 tie against European champions Paris Saint-Germain, Alba shared his belief that Luis Enrique is the best manager on the planet. On Inter Miami reaching the knockout stages, the veteran full-back was quoted by AS as saying: “For the club, this kind of achievement is wonderful, and now we’ve got to compete against a PSG side that will be very tough. Let’s see if we can hold our own.”

However, Alba acknowledges that Inter Miami face an extremely tough challenge against arguably the best team in Europe right now - managed by the man he considers to be the best coach.

He added: “We’ve competed in all three matches. Now, obviously, we’re talking about the champions of Europe.

"We know a lot of their players, and the coach – who I was lucky enough to play under – and I’ve always said he’s the best in the world.”

GiveMeSport Key Statistic: Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola are the only two managers to have won the treble with two different clubs.

Luis Enrique currently ranks fourth in GiveMeSport’s list of the 20 best managers in world football right now, narrowly behind Liverpool’s Arne Slot, new Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti and the aforementioned Guardiola. However, the former Real Madrid and Barcelona star - who goes by the nickname ‘Lucho’ - could rise higher up the list in 2025-26 depending on how PSG perform in Ligue 1 and, more crucially, the Champions League.

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Before that, though, Luis Enrique will be hoping to win the rebranded Club World Cup. Although that will, of course, means inflicting heartbreak on Alba and his Inter Miami teammates - including Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez.

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