Lionel Messi has largely committed his life to soccer. And in doing so, the 36-year-old has been a part of some of the best teams. Earlier, Messi likened his Argentina team to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Now, the orchestrator of the treble-winning team, Guardiola, has broken his silence on his disciples’ unique hypothesis.

Interestingly, when Messi made this comparison, he also broke an interesting record of his former Barca teammate and best friend, Luis Suarez.

Pep Guardiola responds to Messi’s Argentina-Barcelona comparison

Earlier, after his national side won 2-0 against Peru, he compared his Argentina side to Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. He said, “This team is playing better and better. The Barcelona (under Pep Guardiola) that I had to play for was the best team in history; that’s a lot, no? But this one is very close I think for what we have been showing, for having become the champion of Copa America and the World, and that has a lot of merit.”

Interestingly, Pep Guardiola was asked about the comments his former player made. Speaking ahead of the Manchester derby, as translated by DeepL, he said, “With the intuition and the quality that Messi has to analyze what happened on the field of world soccer and has been on both sides, why should I not believe him? I can’t talk about Argentina because I’m not there. He was in Argentina and Barcelona, so it’s nice.”

As per Marca, Guardiola then took the opportunity to heap praise on the world champions. The Spanish tactician complimented La Albiceleste’s individual qualities that each of their players possesses, especially in terms of skills and an ‘incredible’ mentality. The Citizen coach also acknowledged that Lionel Scaloni’s side “surprised him in difficult moments like in the quarterfinals or in the final,” while claiming it was one of the best finals he’d seen.

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Indeed, these are some heartfelt words from Guardiola. Meanwhile, let’s look at how Messi and Guardiola wrote their names in the history books together.

A walk down memory lane of Lionel Messi-Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona partnership

Pep Guardiola’s tenure at FC Barcelona was truly exceptional, marking one of the most remarkable eras in the club’s history. As Guardiola once famously stated, “I tried making Lionel Messi the best player in the world, he ended up making me the best manager in the world.”

During Guardiola’s four-season leadership at the club, an impressive total of 14 trophies were secured, including their first-ever treble. Additionally, the team achieved a remarkable goal-scoring record, with Messi contributing 211 goals out of Barcelona’s impressive tally of 638 goals over those magical years. Indeed, these are some out-of-the-world numbers, and it’s unlikely we’ll get to see another duo of player and manager ever again.

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