 He resigned from CSKA immediately after leading them to a Russian Championship and the EuroLeague Final, during the 2008–09 season.He was offered a position as the technical director at CSKA, but at the time of his resignation, he had not decided whether or not he wanted to stay with the club.Messina was announced as the new head coach of the Spanish League club Real Madrid, on 18 June 2009, and signed his contract with the club the following day.