Manchester City sporting director Ferran Soriano on Tuesday told signing Barcelona striker Lionel Messi was impossible and it’s difficult. He admitted that the Argentine is enjoying his career at in so far.
Messi is happy right now at Camp Nou after bringing the Blaugrana at the top of La Liga standings. He is also keen to win Champions League with his team-mates this season.
Barcelona impresses this season, they are unbeaten in the last five matches La Liga and in the Champions League. And to reach this level, Barcelona can obviously count on Messi.
“There is no chance of signing Messi. I know him and his family well and I know they are fine in Barcelona, which is where he needs to be.” Soriano said.
“We will make our way without him, which will be more difficult because he is the best player in the history of football. He changed everything, he is a genius.” Soriano added.
City in last October, had met with Messi’s representative many times, making it clear they wanted him. The Citizens hoped that Messi once again can play alongside Pep Guardiola former his manager in Barcelona.
Manchester City sporting director (right) Ferran Sariano. (Source:www.nytimes.com)
But a month later, Messi signed a new four-year contract in Barcelona worth £500,000 per week, extending his stay at the club until 2021.
His contract also includes a buyout clause worth £626m as Barcelona bid to ward offer other clubs interested in Mesi.
Sariano on the other hand, he also talked about Guardiola, who has been impressed since joining City in the 2016 summer. The Spanish manager becomes first manager to win the EPL award four times in row this season.
“The main characteristic of Guardiola is working. He works more than anyone and sometimes people think that he is a genius, but it is because he works a lot. He knows that football is very cruel and when you relax, you can concede four goals.” Sariano said.
“Patience is essential and one way to understand it is to see tat the teams that have won consistently are not the ones that change a coach every two months or every year.
“The key is long-term planning and managers must have the strength to make the decisions they think are right, even though fans ask for sometimes else.” he added.
