Argentina superstar Lionel Messi jokes about Josep “Pep” Guardiola. He said Guardiola ruined the world of football by making it so easy and simple. Lionel Messi spent four very successful seasons at Barcelona with Pep Guardiola as coach. He has won two Champions League titles and three La Liga titles, the top caste of the Spanish League.
Speaking during an interview with Movistar’s ‘Universo Valdano’ programme, Messi reminisced about himself at Barcelona with Guardiola and Luis Enrique when they were coaches. “Guardiola is very detrimental to the world of football because everything we do seems very simple and everyone wants to imitate him,” said Messi.
“After that period, I met many Guardiola-style teams and then you realize what we did,” said the Argentina captain. “Pep has something special about preparing for matches, analyzing them and communicating with the team,” said the Paris Saint-Germain star.
Moreover, Messi also admitted that Guardiola, who managed Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, was the best coach he had ever had. During the four year period, Guardiola recorded 72% win record. In fact, his winning record in three teams he ever managed, ie Bayern Munich and Manchester City, his winning record is above 70%.
In addition, the Argentina international also spoke about Luis Enrique, who managed Barcelona in 2013-17. Initially, Messi had some problems with the Spaniard but in the end, they have a very good relationship.
“I came back from Argentina after the holidays and we played on January 2 or January 3, I don’t remember well. However, I ended up on the bench,” he said. “We had a fight that lasted for a while. However, then we maintained a spectacular relationship until the last day,” said Messi. “When he decided to leave Barcelona, we told him to stay, not to leave.”
Now, he is the manager of Manchester City in the Premier League and Luis Enrique is taking on the role of coach of the Spanish national team.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi plays for Paris Saint-Germain in the French League. La Pulga, Messi’s nickname, showed an impressive performance with Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022-2023 season. This season, Messi has collected 12 goals and 14 assists from 19 appearances for PSG.
