Inter Miami forward, Lionel Messi met with Manchester City Pep Guardiola to discuss a move to the Premier League club in the summer of 2020.
It came after Messi famously sent in a transfer request at Barcelona, demanding to rescind his contract.
According to Marti Perarnau’s new book, ‘God Save Pep’, Messi expressed his interest in joining City via a WhatsApp conversation with Sergio Aguero.
He asked Aguero how long Guardiola had left on his contract at the Etihad.
There was then a direct exchange between Messi and Guardiola, which led to a meeting at the coach’s home in Barcelona.
During the chat, Guardiola told Messi how hard the training regime was in Manchester and the city’s notoriously rainy climate.
According to Perarnau, Messi remained adamant that he wanted to leave.
Ultimately, the conversation proved to be academic, with Messi unable to legally extract himself from his contract having made the request behind the stipulated deadline.
Barcelona remained adamant on the player’s €700m release clause.