In August 2020, Manchester City came tantalizingly close to landing Lionel Messi, thanks to a simple yet powerful message: “Hi Pep, how are you?”
This seemingly innocuous greeting signaled Messi’s genuine interest in joining City, as revealed in Marti Perarnau’s book, The Pep Revolution. Despite Manchester City’s disappointing Champions League exit to Lyon amid the pandemic, this message from Messi stirred Pep Guardiola into action. Within a day, Guardiola met Messi in Barcelona, and after an intensive six-hour discussion, both men were on board—Messi was keen on the move, and Guardiola was ready to renew his commitment to City.
However, the deal never materialized. Messi decided against a protracted battle with his lifelong club, Barcelona. The intricate details of the potential transfer reveal just how seriously Guardiola took the possibility. After their meeting, Guardiola and his assistant, Juanma Lillo, meticulously planned how Messi would integrate into City’s tactics. Their strategy involved positioning Messi centrally when defending to push opponents wide and drawing them in during attacks.
The speculation around Messi’s move to Manchester became public, and Guardiola received an inquiry from Bernardo Silva, who was eager to know if the rumors were true. Silva responded enthusiastically, saying, “I’d run twice as much!”
The eventual decision for Messi to remain at Barcelona left Guardiola disheartened, to the extent that he initially struggled to lead City through their training sessions. Nevertheless, he eventually rallied, guiding Manchester City to one of their most successful seasons.
