Pep Guardiola blocked Lionel Messi’s move to Man City? Shocking details emerge

Marti Perarnau, who wrote Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s autobiography ‘God Save Pep’, has made a huge revelation. In one of the chapters, it came to light that Lionel Messi wanted to reunite with his former boss at FC Barcelona at Manchester City. 

Lionel Messi who was entering into his final few seasons at Barcelona was embroiled in a contract stand-off with the club. It is learned that Pep Guardiola had blocked the transfer thinking that Messi might find the physical aspect of the English Premier League too tough. 

For his part, it is also reported that Lionel Messi had disagreed with Guardiola regarding such a suggestion. This is when Paris Saint Germain sprang into action and completed the signing of Lionel Messi on a two-year deal. 

How close was Lionel Messi to joining Manchester City?

As reports emerged that Lionel Messi was on the cusp of ending his long association with FC Barcelona, there were rumours about his next move. One of the touted destinations was Manchester City which had Pep Guardiola at the helm. 

Many fans and pundits thought that their old association could bring the Argentine to Manchester. Guardiola though blocked the move and during an interview had stated “I want him to finish his career there. That is what I want. As a Barcelona fan, I would like for Leo to finish there."

Lionel Messi moved to Paris Saint Germain which already had Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in the ranks. His two years at Paris weren’t too successful and his stint ended on an acrimonious note.   

Ahead of his move to Paris, a teary-eyed Lionel Messi had said “My departure to Paris was not something I wanted, I did not want to leave Barcelona, and it became difficult. I was lucky to be in the best team in the world, in the best club, the best team in history”

Currently, Lionel Messi is recuperating from an injury that he suffered during the COPA America Final versus Colombia. Despite the absence of their talisman, Inter Miami FC beat Chicago Fire 2-1. Matias Rojas opened the scoring in the 8th minute before Rafael Czichos equalized in the 73rd minute. Jordi Alba scored the winner for Inter Miami FC in the 75th minute to keep the team top of the table in the Eastern Conference.