Lionel Messi sent furious text to Pep Guardiola when he signed controversial player

Lionel Messi once sent a furious text to then Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola after he sanctioned a controversial signing.

After winning the Treble back in 2008/09, Pep decided he needed to further bolster his forward line at the Nou Camp in which Messi began to feel threatened.

Having scored 38 goals in 51 appearances in the previous season, the Argentine sent a strongly-worded message to the now Man City boss.

It was in fact Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was brought in as a direct threat to the former Barcelona man, with Samuel Eto'o heading the other way to Inter Milan in a swap deal.

In 'The Messi Mystery' by Sebastian Fest and Alex Juillard, the ex-PSG is said to have text Guardiola despite being on the same coach as him at the time.

According to the book the message said, in not exact words, "I can see that I am no longer important to the team, so...," and was sent on the team bus as he found it hard to express his feelings in person to Pep.

It was Messi's fourth season in the first team but the book goes on to say, "Messi had failed to shine in a few games and Ibrahimovic was playing well. Suddenly, there were complications for the Argentine."

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Guardiola moved Messi from wide to play through the middle, with Zlatan having to play out wide instead, where he went on to notch 47 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions.

In contrast Ibrahimovic scored 21 goals in 45 appearances for the Catalan giants before moving back to Milan, first on loan, and then moving to France, England, the US before returning to AC Milan.

Messi has since moved to Inter Miami as he sees out the final stages of his career, with the 36-year-old enjoying his time in the US thus far.