Lionel Messi almost left Barcelona to join Manchester City after enduring a tough 2016, according to a report.
Argentine superstar Messi has been at Barca since he was 13 years old and has played 649 times for the Catalan giant’s first team across 15 seasons.
He has won La Liga nine times, six Copa del Rey crowns and picked up four Champions League winners medals at the club, as well as amassing five Ballon d’Or awards during his career.
Messi should be the happiest football in the world, and he always seemed to be.
But according to Mundo Deportivo, Messi sought out a move to Manchester City in 2016 after a rocky period on and off the pitch.
Barca won La Liga and Copa del Rey in the 2015/16 season but during the following summer Messi was convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to 21-month in jail – although didn’t have to serve it.
In June of that year, Messi was part of the Argentina squad which lost the Copa America Centenario to Chile.
Messi missed his penalty in the shootout, with their South American rivals winning 4-2 after the game had finished 0-0.
Due to the pair of losses, Messi felt he was in need of a fresh start and after chatting with his father, Jorge, and analysing his future he decided he would be best suited at City.
One of the main reasons for the decision was Pep Guardiola – his former Barca boss had just taken over the reins at the Etihad Stadium.
Messi’s agent got in touch with City chiefs Ferren Soriano and Tziki Begiristain regarding a possible swoop.
The talks never got to a stage where a contract was discussed, with the forward eventually electing to remain at the Nou Camp and signing a new contract in 2017 to keep him there until 2021.
Guardiola reaffirmed last week that he, or City, would never make the first step in attempting to sign Messi.
He said: “I know how important he is for Barcelona . I never made the first step to say I want this player. Never.
“I said a thousand times I want him to stay at Barcelona. I want that.”
Read More
Mirror Football’s Top Stories
-
Leicester players arrive in Thailand
-
Messi set for Barcelona return
-
McClean hits back over poppy abuse
-
Shaqiri left out of Liverpool squad
Source: Read Full Article