Barcelona’s natural association with Lionel Messi is undeniable. After all, the union of these parties produced some of the most iconic and brilliant chapters in recent football history. However, the journey that ended in 2021 almost ended in a very different way. At least, that’s what journalist Martí Perarnau says in an article in the English newspaper Daily Mail.
Pep Guardiola’s official biographer says that the situation occurred in 2020. More specifically, right after Barcelona’s traumatic elimination by Bayern Munich, in the European Champions League, with a crushing 8-2. The knockout stage of that season’s tournament took place in Lisbon, in single games and without fans due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With a latent sense of frustration, Messi approached both Guardiola and Sergio Aguero, a friend and former Manchester City player, to discuss a possible transfer. It only took a few days for a face-to-face meeting between the Argentine and the coach to take place.
In this meeting, all of Pep’s planning and even previous experiences were discussed in the meeting that lasted six and a half hours. The parties left the meeting excited and, quickly, the rest of the Citizens squad was aware of the possibility. However, the financial aspect ended up being decisive for the desire to remain just an idea.
At the time, Messi presented his idea of leaving Barça through a document in which he expected understanding in light of the services rendered and requested the release of the current contract without any costs. Barcelona, in turn, demanded payment of the termination fee, which was set at 700 million euros (R$4.6 billion, at the exchange rate at the time), something that the English club had no intention of paying.
Lionel remained on contract until mid-2021 when he left the Catalan club and joined Paris Saint-Germain. Today, he plays for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
