Pep Guardiola: Man City boss responds to Messi’s comparison of Argentina to his Barcelona

Lionel Messi can do no wrong in the sight of Pep Guardiola, neither can he say anything wrong after his former manager responded to his comparison of Argentina to his former Barcelona side.

Messi, after scoring twice for Argentina to beat Peru, was asked which team was the best and said Lionel Scaloni's team was close to the Barcelona team under Guardiola.

The Argentine was at his devastating best under the Spanish boss during their four years together at Barcelona and has been the leader of Scaloni's team that are currently defending champions of the Copa America and World Cup.

Speaking ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, as quoted by TyC Sports, Guardiola was asked for comments on his former players claims and he said:

"With the intuition and quality that Messi has to analyse what happened on the pitch in world football, and he has been on both sides, why should I not believe him? I cannot talk about Argentina because I'm not there. He was in Argentina and Barcelona, so it's nice," he said.

Per Transfermarkt, he scored 211 goals and provided 94 assists in 219 games under the Spaniard. He won 14 trophies together, including two UEFA Champions League and a sextuple and won four consecutive Ballon d'Or between 2009 and 2012.

Under the current Argentina boss, he has scored 41 goals and provided 15 assists in 50 games, winning the 2021 Copa America, UEFA-CONMEBOL Finalissima and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The Inter Miami star is expected to win his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or on Monday, edging Erling Haaland, who plays for Guardiola at City.

Guardiola's comment on Ballon d'Or

Sports Brief reported Pep Guardiola's thoughts on Ballon d'Or race involving his current player Haaland and his beloved former Barcelona player Messi.

Guardiola did not directly make a pick, but fans made an insinuation out of his words that he wanted the 36-year-old to win by claiming the Argentine's worst season is the best for others.