Text messages between Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have been revealed in a new book.
New excerpts suggest Lionel Messi was close to joining Pep Guardiola’s Man City.
It comes after Messi suffered another Champions League humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich in 2020. Barcelona were knocked out of the European Cup in the quarter-finals after a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern.
And it appears that Messi was frustrated and wondering whether Pep Guardiola would give him a place in the squad.
The Argentine’s father, Jorge Messi, is then said to have contacted Man City chief executive Ferran Soriano and asked Pep to meet his son.
Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi were close to reuniting at Manchester City in 2020 (Image: Getty).
After receiving both messages, Pep Guardiola agreed to sit down with Messi at his Barcelona home – and the conversation lasted six hours.
In excerpts published in the Daily Mail, Messi is said to have told Pep Guardiola in 2020: “Boss, I just want to go as far as I can. I still want to do great things.”
Pep replied: “We train very hard and do you know it rains a lot in Manchester?”
Messi said: “I don’t mind. I’m ready to work hard.”
Pep: “I still give long tactical talks. You might get bored…”
Messi: “I’ll handle it, I can handle any problem the bosses give me.”
Pep: “Leo, we’re both much older now. Maybe we won’t get along anymore.”
At 6:30 p.m. the same day (local time), they said goodbye to each other with a warm hug, and at the same time, coach Pep Guardiola began planning for his team to approach Barca to recruit Messi.
The Argentine wanted to leave Barca for Manchester (Image: Getty).
City began to get excited about the prospect of arguably the world’s greatest player joining them, after Liverpool beat them to the Premier League title.
Bernardo Silva even texted Pep Guardiola on September 3: “Is that true about Messi?” and added: “I’ll run twice as hard.”
Messi ultimately did not join City after his father wanted to avoid a legal dispute and agreed a one-year deal with the Camp Nou club.
Messi then signed a two-year deal worth £25m a year with Paris Saint-Germain, before joining MLS side Inter Miami on a free transfer in June 2023.
Meanwhile, the book also claims that Pep Guardiola was not interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021 because the striker did not fit into their smooth-running system.
