Guardiola “destroyed” football, Messi said of his former Barcelona coach

Lionel Messi made a seemingly shocking statement about his former boss. The Argentine superstar has let it be known that Pep Guardiola, during his time at Barcelona, has in a sense destroyed football as the world has known it so far.

Of course, Messi meant it in a positive way, it was words of admiration. For when Guardiola, the current Manchester City manager, launched the system known as tiki-taka at Barcelona, he stunned the football world and changed it for good. He turned its rules upside down and revolutionised it.

After that, everyone tried to play the same way as Barcelona, but no one ever brought it to such crystal clear perfection. The Blaugranas were unstoppable in their time under Guardiola, they were one of the most successful teams in the history of football; an offensive machine that crushed their opponents mercilessly.

“In a sense, Guardiola destroyed football itself in his time. In the days when he coached me at Barcelona, our football under his tutelage looked so easy and simple that everyone tried to copy us afterwards,” Messi, now a mainstay of French side PSG, told the Daily Mail.

“I met many people then who tried to copy Guardiola’s style. That’s when I realised what a hole Pep had made in the world of football. He is without any question the best coach I have ever played under,” the former long-time Barcelona striker said in an interview with the legendary Jorge Valdano.

“There is something special about the way Guardiola looks at football, the way he prepares his charges and communicates with them. Everything he talks about before the game then actually happens on the pitch. It’s as if he can predict the future,” Messi spared no words of praise for his former manager.

Pep Guardiola led Barcelona from 2008-2012 and those were golden times for him, for the club and for Messi. He then coached Bayern Munich until 2016, since then he has been on the Citizens’ bench and is still trying in vain to build on the successes of his Barcelona era in the Champions League. Messi left the Catalan big club in 2021, when he headed to Paris.

Yet there have been several talks of a reunion. When Messi left Barcelona last summer, a link with Manchester City was logically offered. However, Guardiola had paid £100m for Jack Grealish just days before, and on Messi’s salary, due to financial fair-play, this was no longer a reality.

Source: Daily Mail Online