Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola says reports that he tried to sign Barcelona captain Lionel Messi during his time at Bayern Munich and his current club are false and that he never asked for the Argentine superstar.
“When I left Barcelona and I went to Bayern Munich and Manchester City I never, never asked Lionel Messi to come to join Bayern Munich or here when I was manager,” Guardiola categorically rejected the reports while speaking to reporters during a pre-match press conference.
The former Barcelona coach added that he wants Messi to stay at Barcelona and possibly end his career at the Camp Nou.
While what Guardiola says might be true, there is no doubt that Manchester City has tried on several occasions to bag the signature of Messi.
El Mundo newspaper in Spain reported that Messi was offered a five-year €250 million net ($285.55m) deal, which could have earned him 50million a year but it did not go as planned for the Blues.
Not only that, the Citizens and their Emirati owner has on several occasions reached out to Barcelona to sign their main main. Nonetheless, Messi’s commitment to Barcelona could never be questioned and according to himself, he would only leave Barca for his hometown club, Newell’s Old Boys.
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