Coach Pep Guardiola chose footballer Lionel Messi over Diego Maradona
The head coach of the English Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, chose between Argentine football players Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. His words are quoted by Calciomercato.
The specialist recalled the pre-season tour of Asia, when Messi arrived at Barcelona’s location from Argentina tired and broken. “Leo was sitting on the bench. The tournament organizer said: “Let Messi out, or we won’t pay you.” We achieved a 3-0 victory thanks to Leo’s hat-trick,” he said. As a result, Guardiola preferred Messi, although in his opinion Maradona was a strong player.
Messi became the world champion for the first time in his career in 2022 and was recognized as the best player of the tournament in Qatar. The Argentine played for Barcelona for most of his career – from 2005 to 2021. As a member of the Catalans, he became the champion of Spain ten times and won the Champions League four times. Guardiola coached the team from 2008 to 2012.
Maradona became the world champion in 1986 as part of the Argentina national team. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of football.
Source: Lenta
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