the times | Friday August 28 2020 2GM 71
Sport
could be standing among other
parents watching their child in the
kids’ play area.
José Mourinho used to jump on a
train to London at every opportunity
but Pep Guardiola has taken a city-
centre apartment as well as a stake in
a restaurant close to his home.
Quite what Messi would choose for
his family remains to be seen. A
number of City’s players have opted
to live in the city centre, mainly to
avoid the traffic that builds up on the
motorway into training.
That said, the South American
players seem to have opted for Hale
and Bowdon that boast multimillion-
pound homes, good schools and a
close proximity to the airport. Given
that Messi lives with his family in a
sprawling mansion in a Barcelona
suburb popular with other players, he
would probably consider it ideal.
How could Manchester City afford
Lionel Messi and still comply with
Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules?
This may be much easier than it at
first appears. Even if Messi’s wages
are about £80 million a year — and
City’s total wage bill in 2018-19 was
£316 million — then there are ways it
could be covered. The most likely
method is via new sponsorship deals
and there is already a previous
example shown by Juventus, who
announced that Jeep — owned by
Fiat, which is run by the Agnelli
family — had trebled its sponsorshipNew sponsorships will be crucial for financing deal
soon after the signing of Cristiano
Ronaldo. Etihad Airways’ deal with
City expires in 2021, so the timing is
perfect for a bumper new sponsorship
that could be explained to Uefa as
having taken account of the signing of
the most famous player in the world.Could the legal dispute between
Barcelona and Messi over whether
he can leave for free scupper the
move?
Neither side wants to go court over
the issue so it is much more likely
that a compromise deal is reached
that would see Barcelona accept a
reduced transfer fee — closer to
€100 million (about £90 million) than
the €700 million escape clause.If City have to pay a three-figure
transfer fee, as well as such a big
salary, could they still afford that?
There are unlikely to be problems
finding the money given the deep
pockets of the Abu Dhabi owners, the
issue is more about complying with
spending rules. In terms of FFP, the
transfer fee would be spread over the
length of the contract. There are
other creative options too, such as
Messi being employed by the City
Football Group and playing in the
Premier League for City initially and
then, for example, in the MLS for
New York City FC. Alternatively, he
could accept a lower salary as a player
and become a paid ambassador for
various organisations.Could this be a powerplay by Messi
to try and get rid of the Barcelona
hierarchy or get a bigger contract?
Observers who have a close
association with the club are
convinced that this really is the end
for Messi and Barcelona.Is there a propaganda element to
City’s pursuit of Messi?
There would be a lot of reflected
glory from the prestige of signing
Messi but as important are the old
Barcelona links of those in charge at
City. Ferran Soriano, the chief
executive, Pep Guardiola, the
manager, and the director of football,
Txiki Begiristain, were all at Barcelona
and have a connection to Messi.could they afford him?
Martyn ZieglerGuardiola and Messi won
14 trophies togetherLast week Lionel Messi had already
made his decision. But days before
informing Barcelona that it was his
desire to leave them, he phoned to
confide in an old friend. Pep
Guardiola took the call and listened
as his former player informed him he
was interested in the idea of being
reunited with the man who had found
the brightest version of Messi.
According to sources close to the
pair, the conversation with Guardiola,
49, made the Manchester City
hierarchy aware for the first time that
they may really have a chance of
signing Messi. It may prove to have
been one of the most significant
phone calls in the recent history of
English football. Not many could have
foreseen this scenario in 2012, the
pair’s final year together at Barcelona.
Guardiola stepped down as manager,
admitting he was “worn out and
empty” and that “if I don’t leave, [the
club and I] could hurt each other”.
Though they had enjoyed four
hugely successful years under
Guardiola, the players were as
exhausted by him as he was by the
job, and that included Messi. Part of
Guardiola’s intense approach to
managing Barcelona was trying to
understand what was in Messi’s head.
When he took over in 2008, he took
the squad to St Andrews Golf Club for
a pre-season camp. The manager had
overhauled the team — Ronaldinho
and Deco were gone, Samuel Eto’o
looked like being next. Messi had
to be the new leader of a
generation, but he was
brooding. Messi, who was 21,
wanted to play for Argentina
in the Olympics but
Barcelona were under no
obligation to release
him, and the dispute
threatened to be
disruptive until a
training session in
Scotland. Guardiola took
Messi aside for more than
20 minutes and by the end
of the conversation, Messiwould be special privilege
Deep bond formed on
trip to St Andrews
how close is he to guardiola?
had permission to play in the
Olympics. “Go there, win the gold
medal, come back and give us the best
because we need you,” was the
message to Messi. No one can say he
disappointed the club: 12 months later
he had the medal and the first treble
of Barcelona’s history. Four years on,
Guardiola went to New York for a
sabbatical year, and then to coach
Bayern Munich. He put distance
between himself and Barcelona but
his admiration for Messi, 33, has
never faded.
In Manchester, Messi’s name has
hung tantalisingly over City since
Sheikh Mansour took over the club in
2008, all the more so since
Guardiola’s arrival in 2016, which was
when they had previously come
closest to signing Messi. He was
already doubting his future in
Barcelona and his entourage
contacted City. It was the first time
Guardiola and Messi had spoken
since 2012. Messi was tempted by
City, and the club began to work on
an offer. Just as it appeared agreed,
Messi’s family and friends, including
Luis Suárez, persuaded him to stay.
Since then it has seemed a dream to
City’s executives, who nonetheless
have spent dinners noting the figures
that might make the deal possible.
Now everything has changed.
Messi has always respected how
Guardiola has continued to praise
him in public. After Barcelona lost in
the Champions League semi-
finals to Liverpool last year,
he said: “I was at the Camp
Nou watching the first leg —
Messi ran his socks off. And
I saw the second leg: the
blame of why
Barcelona lost is not
on Messi.” Unlike the
Barcelona board,
Guardiola never
blamed Messi for the
club’s difficulties. Now
he wants to provide
the solution to Messi’s
problem.
6 Pol Ballús is a
Spanish football writer
who has written two
books about Pep
Guardiola.Pol BallúsJAN KRUGER/GETTY IMAGES17 games in England in 14 years
DATE OPPONENT G A R
Feb 2014 Man City Etihad Stadium 10 W 2-0
Feb 2015 Man City Etihad Stadium 00 W 2-1
Feb 2016 Arsenal Emirates Stadium 20 W 2-0
Nov 2016 Man City Etihad Stadium 10 L 3-1
Feb 2018 Chelsea Stamford Bridge 10 D 1-1
Oct 2018 Tottenham Wembley Stadium 20 W 4-2
April 2019Man United Old Trafford 00 W 1-0
May 2019 Liverpool Anfield 00 L 4-0
TOTAL 8 2KEY G Goals A Assists R Result
DATE OPPONENT G A R
Feb 2006 Chelsea Stamford Bridge 00 W 2-1
Oct 2006 Chelsea Stamford Bridge 00 L 1-0
Mar 2007 Liverpool Anfield 00 W 1-0
April 2008Man United Old Trafford 00 L 1-0
May 2009 Chelsea Stamford Bridge 01 D 1-1
Mar 2010 Arsenal Emirates Stadium 00 D 2-2
Feb 2011 Arsenal Emirates Stadium 01 L 2-1
May 2011 Man United Wembley Stadium 10 W 3-1
April 2012 Chelsea Stamford Bridge 00 L 1-0Games won8
Games lost6
Games drawn3
Minutes played1,527
Goals8
Assists2
Five Liverpool
players surround
Messi during
Barcelona’s 4-0
defeat at Anfield
in the Champions
League semi-final
in May last year