The departure of Lionel Messi from Barcelona is regarded as one of the most shocking transfer stories in football history. After his contract ended on July 1, 2021, the Argentine star became a free agent, and talks on a new agreement seemed impossible because of Barcelona’s financial problems. He was expected to sign a new deal with Barcelona after becoming a free agent, however, he ended up signing with PSG in August 2021, during the summer transfer window.
The World Cup winner signed a two-year agreement with the Ligue 1 giants, with an option for an extra year. The rumour of Messi’s exit did not just start in the summer of 2021; its seeds were laid in August 2020, when Messi sent a burofax, demanding his transfer. As per Marti Perarnau’s latest book, God Save Pep, Messi wanted to join Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The book claims that Messi told his close friend and former teammate Sergio Aguero to ask Guardiola about his contract status at the Etihad. The two did not communicate directly at first, and they eventually met at the Catalan’s home in Barcelona.
After City’s Champions League elimination following their defeat against Lyon, Guardiola travelled to his hometown Barcelona and got a message from Messi.
As per Sport, who shared the details from the book, Messi texted, “Hello, Pep. How are you?”
According to the book, they met the next day at Guardiola’s house and the Spaniard warned Messi about the rainy weather in Manchester. In a long-distance conversation, the Argentine explained his differences with the Barcelona board. The following exchange also happened reportedly:
“-In Manchester we train very hard… (Guardiola)
-I will train hard, I’m not worried. (Messi)
-And I continued making long tactical talks. Maybe you’ll get bored…
-I’ll hold on. I will put up with everything you do.
-Leo, we have grown older. Maybe we can’t stand each other anymore.
-Pep, I just want to kill it.”
After Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi left PSG as a free agent during this year’s summer transfer window. He was expected to come back to Barcelona or join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia at first. However, in an unexpected transfer, he joined David Beckham’s co-owned MLS team Inter Miami.