Theirs was a relationship made in footballing heaven.
When Pep Guardiola was installed as Barcelona coach back in 2008, so began the most trophy laden four years in the club’s history.
That was arguably as much to do with the way in which the Catalan built the Barca team around Lionel Messi – famously using the Argentinian in a ‘false 9’ position in the 6-2 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in May 2009 – as anything else.
Eleven years later, and with Messi able to talk to other teams within a week regarding a potential transfer, it’s an odd time for Barca’s captain to be singing the praises of the now Man City coach.
“Pep has something special,” Messi said to journalist, Jordi Évole, during the La Sexta programme ‘Lo de Évole,’ cited by Mundo Deportivo, from an interview that is due to be shown in full on Sunday evening.
“I don’t know, he makes you see things in one way, how he prepared the games, defensively and to attack, he told you exactly where the game was (going to be won and lost), how you had to attack to win.
“I was lucky that I had a lot of time with Guardiola and Luis Enrique, the two best. Having them (as coaches) made me grow a lot in football and in tactical wisdom, which they taught me.”
With his contract due to run out in the summer, Messi’s words will surely give hope to all those Man City supporters who would love to see him line up in the sky blue shirt in 2021/22.