Ex Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola has said immediately he saw Lionel Messi play for the first time, he knew the Spanish club would win everything.
Pep managed 247 games at Barcelona, winning La Liga three times, the Copa del Rey twice and two Champions Leagues, among other trophies.
Under Pep, Lionel played as a false-nine and started to produce remarkable numbers as a footballer.
Speaking on his time at Barca, with Messi playing for him, the City manager said, “I had already been told by someone from the squad that there was a very good player in the squad. They told me that he was very young but scored many goals and he was very good,”
“I did not know him and one day I saw him and his father at a Nike store. I saw him, he looked small and shy and I thought: ‘Is this one as good as they say?’
“We started pre-season in Scotland, we won 6-1, 5-0 and he would score three goals a game for you. I thought that, with him, we would win everything.”
“There was not much time to, but I enjoyed the process of building the team; seeing that the changes we made worked and everything was flowing; how they were brought together, the chemistry, the respect.
“They were a group of friends who went out to dinner often; a group that knew how to move forward in moments of difficulty.
“All this was very good, but the importance of leading such a big club as Barca means that you do not have much time to enjoy it.
“The relationship that we have with those who formed part of that group is insurmountable. There are no championships or world titles that can compensate. We gave each other a lot. But there is a moment, due to the natural process of time, that things end.”
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