That was the entirety of the message, but Pep Guardiola understood that Lionel Messi wanted to join Manchester City in August 2020. Sergio Aguero, being close to Messi, had already issued a warning, but Guardiola was still reeling from City’s disappointing loss to Lyon in the Champions League during the pandemic.

But those five words jolted him awake, and the next day, Guardiola met Messi at his home in Barcelona for a chance to connect. After six hours of discussion, the player was convinced he wanted to make the move, while the manager was determined to have him at the Etihad for another year.

Unfortunately, the deal fell through as Messi chose not to confront his former team. However, Marti Perarnau’s book The Pep Revolution reveals how meticulously everything was arranged for the potential transfer.

After meeting with Messi at his home, Guardiola and assistant coach Juanma Lillo returned to Manchester, planning how the superstar would integrate into the City team during the flight. They envisioned him positioning himself in the middle circle when City was without the ball to stretch the opponents wide. When City had possession, he would advance into the box, drawing everyone forward with him.

At that time, the Manchester Evening News reported that Messi might be making a move. As Guardiola was formulating his plans, Bernardo Silva reached out with a message inquiring if the rumor was true. When asked how he felt about the possibility, he replied, “I’d run twice as much!”

In his detailed examination of Guardiola’s seven seasons at Manchester City, Berarnau describes how devastated Guardiola felt upon learning that Messi was staying with Barcelona; he was so disheartened that he couldn’t even train at the City Football Academy. However, he eventually pulled himself together and found the motivation to lead City to one of their best seasons ever.