Lionel Messi to Manchester City: New Guardiola biography details how close ex-Barcelona man came to joining club in 2020

Lionel Messi was reportedly close to joining Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City from Barcelona in 2020. The move eventually didn’t materialise, but new details from Martin Perarnau’s upcoming book, titled The Pep Revolution: Inside Manchester City claim that the Argentine was keen on reuniting with Guardiola.

An excerpt from the upcoming book published via Daily Mail revealed that everything started after Messi and Guardiola were left dejected after poor seasons at their respective club.

The Spanish coach was disappointed with City’s UCL quarter-final exit to Lyon, while Messi had suffered a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the quarters that year. The excerpt reveals that Messi texted his close friend from the national team, Sergio Aguero, in the year to ask how long Guardiola has left in his contract.

“Something big might be happening. Leo’s just asked me how long Pep has left on his contract,” Aguero wrote to his Man City teammates via Whatsapp.

The book further noted that Guardiola didn’t come across the message for hours, as he was on a flight back from Lisbon. Upon landing, the Spaniard received a text from Lionel Messi.

“Hi, Pep, how are you?” the Argentine wrote.

Guardiola and Messi reportedly met at Barcelona the next day and had a six-and-a-half hour long conversation. La Pulga reportedly revealed that he wasn’t satisfied with his treatment at Barcelona and would prefer to move to Manchester City.

The two discussed a potential move in detail, wanting to reunite after their successful stint at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012.

However, as things turned out, Lionel Messi eventually decided to stay at the Camp Nou before leaving to join Paris St-Germain in 2021. He subsequently joined his current club Inter Miami in 2023.

Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola’s talk about Barcelona legend’s potential move to Manchester City in 2020

Martin Perarnau’s upcoming book revealed key details about Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola’s conversation about the legendary forward’s potential move to Manchester City from Barcelona.

The coach is said to have joked with Leo about it “raining a lot in Manchester.” He also informed the Argentine that they train hard at the club although La Pulga didn’t have any objection to it.

“And I still give long tactical talks. Maybe you’ll get bored.” the Spaniard reportedly told Leo.

“I’ll cope. I can cope with anything you throw at me,” Messi answered.

The Man City boss wondered if Messi and his reunion would be a success once again, given that both were much older than when they worked together at Barca. Here’s an excerpt from the supposed conversation:

Guardiola: “Leo, we’re both much older than we were. Maybe we won’t get on now.”

Messi: “Pep, I just want the chance to do great things, to feel like I’m ready to smash it again.”

The former Barcelona coach also promised Lionel Messi that he would extend his contract at Manchester City if the Argentine would join them. The pair wanted Messi’s father Jorge Messi and agent Ferran Soriano to lead the talks and negotiations. In 2020, Messi still had a year left in his contract with the Blaugrana.

However, things eventually didn’t happen for undisclosed reasons, and Messi decided to stay at Barcelona. Martin Perarnau revealed in his book that the City squad was excited with the prospect of Messi joining them.

The excerpt revealed that Bernardo Silva was said to have texted that he would run “twice as much”, supposedly to assist Messi if he would end up at the Etihad. However, Messi and Guardiola’s reunion never happened although both eventually found success.