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Lionel Messi tried to reassure Pep Guardiola that he could handle the intensity of playing for Manchester City during a 2020 conversation documented in a new book.
According to “God Save Pep” by Marti Perarnau, Messi contacted Guardiola, his former manager at Barcelona, through Sergio Aguero as he tried to sort out his next move amid dissatisfaction in Spain.
Around this time, the forward had publicly blasted his longtime club. He apparently viewed Manchester City as an ideal destination, pleading with one of his favorite bosses about the possible reunion.
The book claims that in a meeting at Guardiola’s home in Barcelona, he told Messi that Manchester City training might prove too challenging at an advanced stage of his career, Messi firmly denied that was the case. He was 33 years old at the time.
“I will train hard, I’m not worried,” Messi reportedly said to Guardiola. “I will put up with everything you do.” Messi remained at Barcelona for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. But given public comments critical of then-club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and looming financial trouble for the team, he played out that campaign knowing it might be his last with them.
After a Luis Suarez-led Atletico Madrid won La Liga in a cruel twist to Messi’s final stretch in the Spanish top-flight, rumours swirled all summer about whether Manchester City would indeed swoop in for the legendary Argentina star.
Despite Messi’s reported conversation with Guardiola, Manchester City let Paris Saint-Germain complete their dramatic bid to bring him to the French capital.
According to previous reporting from The Athletic, Manchester City prioritised landing Jack Grealish and Harry Kane after the European Championships in the summer of 2021 rather than focusing their attention on Messi.
They secured Grealish but could not pry Kane away from Tottenham.
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