While Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League super bout between Barcelona and Manchester City will dominate the headlines for on-field play, Pep Guardiola’s pre-match press conference made waves on its own.
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The Manchester City boss addressed media on Tuesday, and discussed one of his former pupils, who just so happens to be one of football’s biggest stars.
While Lionel Messi remains a Barcelona player — as he has been for the better part of his adult life — Guardiola suggested there’s a possibility that Argentina’s captain could move away from the Camp Nou in the future.
“If you’re talking about this summer, I never called Messi,” said Guardiola, at his Tuesday pre-game press conference in Barcelona. “In the case of Leo, I really wish him to play here and finish his career here. Play here for a long time.
“But maybe he will think, ‘Okay, I want to go play somewhere else’ because maybe he wants his kids to speak English or live a different experience, like many of us. Maybe it could happen, but if he decides to go and it happens, there would be a list of seven or eight clubs that would want to sign him, and it would be down to him. Messi will decide where to go.”
It’s impossible to completely dismiss the notion that Messi would ever come to the Premier League, however, the 29-year-old firmly enjoys playing in La Liga by all accounts.
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That being said, if there was an English side that he would ever make the switch to, it would certainly be with Guardiola and Manchester City.