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One of the first questions Pep Guardiola received following the announcement of his new two-year contract with Manchester City last week was whether it would increase the chances of Lionel Messi joining from Barcelona.
“What I want is for his career to end there,” was Guardiola’s response, who seemed to pour cold water on the idea.
But whatever the coach says in public, there is no doubt that City want the Barça captain and will do everything possible to sign him now that he knows that Guardiola is staying.
In that sense, the new contract could change the rules of the game in his search for one of the best players in soccer.
Messi will be all ears.
Guardiola rebuilds the City squad
Guardiola and the club hierarchy agreed as early as April that a team review was needed at the Etihad Stadium, a view supported this season by the fact that they are in the lower half of the Premier League table after eight games, having won only three times. .
Your manager’s new contract is likely to significantly simplify that process.
Last summer City began negotiations with a world-class player they would have loved to bring to the club. The feeling was mutual. “Just one thing before signing,” said the player. “Will Pep stay at the club?” Guardiola was not engaged at the time.
The message he received was that Guardiola would stay at City until at least July 2021, the end of his current contract at the time, but nothing was confirmed after that, although he most likely would stay.
The Catalan coach could have told the player that, indeed, he would extend his stay and the deal could have been made. He chose not to because he hadn’t thought deeply about it yet, and as a consequence, the player said thank you, but no thank you.
Pep Guardiola won the Champions League twice as Barcelona coach
Having decided to stay, it is not surprising that Guardiola wanted the news to be announced as soon as possible. Players and officials within the club, as well as many outside it, needed to know quickly.
He stays because he knows that it is a squad in which, except for five or six players, they will hear offers for all because the group has to go through a recycling process. More importantly, he has a clear idea that Manchester City will let him do it, and do it his way. There is no better place to work.
The thought process behind Guardiola’s decision to extend his stay was not influenced by the prospect that Messi could start negotiations with potential employers starting in January. However, according to sources close to the coach, when it seemed that Messi was going to leave in the summer he called Guardiola to find out if City was looking for him. That conversation lasted four hours, with lengthy discussions about what it meant to play in the Premier League, about Manchester, and about the changes needed to his style to accommodate him, so the relationship is certainly strong between the two men.
But Messi’s possible arrival, as delightful as it is for City in particular and the Premier League in general, is still a long way from a closed deal, for a number of reasons, mainly the fact that there are so many. suitors who seek to take him away from the Camp Nou.
City’s trump card is that they have Guardiola engaged until the summer of 2023, at which point Messi will turn 36.
A very happy new year for the city?
Sooner rather than later we will know if a deal will be made because as of January 1 Messi will have the freedom to start negotiations on where he will be once his contract with Barcelona ends at the end of June.
The waters have been further muddied by the resignation of Barcelona’s board of directors and the club’s impending presidential election, with each candidate desperate to be seen doing their best to guarantee Argentina’s stay. In any case, he will not make his decision until he has heard the new president, in office from January 24.
What would Guardiola do with Messi if he signed him? A coach helps the team to carry the ball from one area to another, then it is up to the players to mark the opportunities created and save those granted. Few teams create as many starts as City, but their waste in front of goal is in full view. Having Messi will help with that. Also, on the most important stage, the Champions League, Messi has consistently delivered.
A major plus now, compared to when there was a deal on the cards in the summer, is money. If City had bought him, he would have had to pay a transfer fee, in addition to following the path of litigation with Barcelona.
Although the message from the English club was that they would not go that way, the message that Messi received from other City sources was the opposite. There are no pending court cases or transfer fees now, and City are able to make the necessary adjustments to pay the annual net salary of more than £ 25 million that would be needed to secure Messi.
Messi with Guardiola versus others with more goal participation (2008-2012)GoalsAttendGamesLionel messi13855136Cristiano Ronaldo13036134Antonio Christmas9225129Zlatan Ibrahimovic8331125Gonzalo Higuain8127118
A little more concerning is how the arrival of the 33-year-old would affect the playing methods and tireless work ethic that Guardiola instilled in his sides. It is no coincidence that Messi has been at the top of the tree for so long because he has the ability to shine at the highest level while reducing the energy he expends, be it in training or games.
Things would be no different at City, and adapting that to a team where everyone is expected to work their socks to get the ball back will be a big question for Guardiola, but one that can be solved.
Having Messi on the pitch will mean making other adjustments. Great teammates as they are out, having Sergio Agüero and Messi together at the helm would not work. One of the keys to the City game is the pressure they exert at the top of the field, something that the two Argentine teammates do less.
Hopefully Messi stays at Barcelona – Guardiola Labor of love for Guardiola
With or without Messi, part of Guardiola’s rebuilding strategy will be to inject more energy into his team. And it should be a labor of love because he is really very happy at the Etihad Stadium.
He could have decided to go to Paris St-Germain and double his salary in one fell swoop. His close working relationship, and now friendship, with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the owner and president of the city of Abu Dhabi, means that he would never do that.
Most importantly, Guardiola clearly sees the owners dedicated and committed to continuing the ongoing project in City. Everyone is on board and singing the same score.
The truth is that his relationship with the owners of the club is so good, that if he decides after a year that he has had enough, it should not be a problem for him to move on. His new contract was finished and dusted off within 24 hours after the discussions started, suggesting that his new terms are not much different from the old ones.
The dominance of national trophies and, in particular, the Premier League has always been, and continues to be, the priority. Guardiola now has three more years to win the league, at least once more, hopefully more than that from the club’s perspective.
His detractors will continue to use his failure to win the Champions League with City as a stick to beat him. But Guardiola is comforted by the fact that he knows the owners understand that the line between success and failure in knockout competitions is very thin.
The signing of players like Ferran Torres and Ruben Dias indicate that the recycling process has already begun. More are on the way.
The question is, will Messi join them?
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Source: bbc.com
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