Getafe President Claims Club Had An Agreement To Sign Both Lionel Messi And Pep Guardiola

Getafe president Angel Torres has revealed that Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola came close to joining the Spanish side in the late 2000s.

Manchester City boss Guardiola, 49, replaced Frank Rijkaard as Barca head coach in 2008 and won an abundance of silverware with Messi leading the frontline.

But former Juventus star Michael Laudrup claimed that then-Barcelona president Joan Laporta wanted him to succeed Rijkaard over Guardiola.

And now Torres has suggested that might have been the case as part of plans for Laudrup to train Barca while Guardiola spent time at Getafe.

The Getafe president told Spanish newspaper Marca: "One day we were in a European draw in Switzerland, Txiki [Begiristain, Barca sporting director at the time] and I, and the idea was that Laudrup would train Barcelona and we would stay as a substitute with Guardiola.

"At first I was not at all convinced to sign Pep."

Messi, 32, broke into the senior team under Rijkaard and signed his first contract as a senior team player in 2005.

But Torres claims he reached a principle agreement with Laporta over a potential loan deal for the Argentine superstar when he was only 18 years old.

"In the first or second year of Messi, we had him almost done to come to Getafe on loan," he said.

"In the end, Rijkaard did not accept and we were left wanting."

Guardiola, who left Barcelona in 2012, previously said that he knew he would "win everything" at the Spanish club when he met Messi.

"I had already told someone from the squad that there was a very good one in the squad," the City boss said.

"They told me that I was very young, but I was happy with many goals and he was very good. I did not know him and one day I saw him his father at a Nike el Prat store.

"I saw him small and shy and I thought, 'Is this one so good they say?' But we started a season in Scotland, we won 1-6, 0-5... and he hit you three goals.

"I thought that with him we would win everything."

Messi has continued to praise his relationship with the former Barca boss and has welcomed the idea of working with him again.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Getafe, Lionel Messi, La Liga, Barca

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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